Imprisoned
by KuroKame
Summary: What would have happened if Tashigi had taken the Strawhat Clan into custody when the battle in Alabasta was over? Rated for some language and some blood [complete] Chapter 1 to 3 rewritten
1. Biding his time

**Imprisoned**

This is a story set right after Luffy's battle against Crocodile in Alabasta.  
What would have happened if Tashigi hadn't told the Marines to leave the Straw Hat clan, and not take them into custody?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters in this story, because if I did, I wouldn't have to write a disclaimer, now would I?  
No, if I owned One Piece, I would have made sure that 4Kids never got the rights to it… -clenches fist-

Have I forgotten something? I probably have… Oh yes!

**Note: **Since I've only read the Swedish translation of One Piece, there might be names that are different from the English translation or the Japanese original. This I am fully aware off, so it's not exactly necessary to point that out. Feel free to comment about that or let me know the English names if you feel that it is something you need to do, I just mean to point out that I know that some names might be different from what you are used to.

* * *

He sat with his back against the cold stonewall, his legs slightly bent and his arms folded around his knees. If it hadn't been for the way his eyes were glistening in the faint light from the lamps outside his cell, it would have been easy to assume that the green-haired man was sleeping. Leaning his chin against his crossed arms, he stared out through the bars to his prison cell like a tiger waiting for the right moment to strike down on its prey. His eyes were as clear and sharp as the eyes of a shark, and more than one Marine soldier could swear that those eyes were able to pierce though anything in their way.

No, Lolonoa Zoro wasn't sleeping. He stubbornly refused to let himself fall asleep, even though he knew that it would allow his body to heal itself much quicker. That would give him an advantage over the Marines when the opportunity came, but there was no time to let his guard down, the prisonguards could pass by at any time, and Zoro didn't want to miss the opportunity to escape if it fell into his hands. So he sat perfectly still, preserving his energy with his gaze fixed on a spot on the other side of the long corridor.

There were other prisoners in the cells around him, across the hall and on the second stage above his head. From what Zoro had seen or heard from them, they were pirates or criminals, all of them with a bounty of more than 50 million Belli. He still wasn't impressed. The prisoners around him were either just making a lot of noise or making no sound at all. Something Zoro had noticed during the short time he had spent inside the cell was that no matter how much a prisoner was talking about escaping, they never went through with it. Even the cockiest pirate soon grew more and more quiet as they started to accept that they wouldn't get out of there alive. The feeling of entrapment got to them all once they realized that there was no one on the outside trying to get them out. It got to them all – except for Zoro. He was already aware that there was no one on the outside who could get him out. He was the only one who could get himself out of the cell, and he had to get out of there to save his nakama.

Snorting lightly, Zoro shook his head and looked down at his feet. It was hard to think that he actually had started to believe in the word 'nakama'. Not that he would be caught using it openly like the way Luffy used it everyday, but still… Only a few months earlier, he would have found the whole idea about being a pirate and actually belonging to a clan ridiculous – how could he become the strongest in the world if he had to take orders from some low-life pirate, just because the low-life had the title 'Captain'?  
But thanks to a wide-eyed moron with great dreams and expectations, he found himself growing stronger everyday, even as a pirate.

From the far end of the corridor, Zoro could hear the newer prisoners scream and curse in their desperate attempts to escape. The swordsman closed his eyes for a moment, letting his breath slow down as he tried to shut out the noise in the cellblock. He was wasting way too much energy by just suppressing the need to beat the noisy bastards senseless. No, he could take that out on Sanji when he finally got out of the prison. Zoro took a deep breath, the thought of being back on the Going Merry and having a normal, loud fight with the cook filling his mind for a moment as he let his body relax.

As he was completely relaxed, Zoro's thoughts were wandering freely. More than once, the thought of his friends in chains came to his mind and he mentally kicked himself every time it did. If he only had been stronger, then he would have been able to protect them from the Marines, and they wouldn't have been captured and locked up inside a huge block of concrete in the middle of nowhere. These thoughts made him lose his focus, and the noise in the cellblock once again pressed against his ears. Groaning, Zoro leaned his forehead against his still crossed arms, a dull headache throbbing behind his eyes. A sharper pain was residing in his chest, where numerous deep cuts were slowly drenching his clothes in blood and draining his strength while he was just sitting there.

The swordsman sighed, pushing the pain away as he leaned his back against the cold wall behind him. He wondered how long he could have been sitting in that cell, since time obviously passed a whole lot slower when he didn't get any sleep. Judging by the throbbing in his chest, it couldn't have gone more than two days since the battle in Albana.

Zoro turned his head to the right as the large iron doors at the end of the corridor were opened with a loud creaking sound. A spark of hope appeared inside him when the first marine soldier entered the cellblock. Maybe this was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

But as a crowd of five more Marines and a new prisoner with chains hanging from his wrists and ankles walked in through the doors, Zoro's hope of getting a chance to escape plummeted like a hammer in water. Instead, he leaned forward over his lightly bent knees and tried to ignore the pain that rushed out from his chest into the rest of his body as he looked at the new prisoner. The Marines escorted the prisoner through the corridor up to the cell across the hall from Zoro's cell.

The chained man was more than a head taller than the Marines surrounding him, and he was very skinny, which made his far too large red pants and white sleeveless shirt hang in folds over his lanky form. The clothes were faded and torn, and colorful patches had been sewn over the largest holes with thick thread. As the man walked into his cell and turned around for the marines to unlock his chains, Zoro could see his face for a short moment. His head had the shape of an almost perfect triangle; his hair was bright red and lay like a thick carpet on his flat scalp while the longer bangs were falling into a pair of baggy green eyes. The man's nose was crooked and looked like it had been broken more than once, just like his pointy chin.

As Zoro made a mental note of the new prisoner's appearance, he leaned his chin against his folded arms again and tried to keep himself from falling asleep. The new addition to the cellblock wasn't anything to be concerned about. The lanky man would either start to be noisy or keep his mouth shut, and if Zoro was lucky, it would be the latter.

The memory of his battle against Mr.1 in Albana came back to him, and he could still remember the sound of his own heartbeats in his ears from when he realized the new level of strength within him. If only he could keep that feeling fresh in his memory until he got out from the cage, then he could practice until he could cut through steel without being on the verge of dying in battle. He had already tried to work out inside the cell, but he had soon realized that doing sit-ups wasn't making the deep slashes across his chest heal any quicker. Doing handstand-push-ups was also something he soon had realized was a bad idea, since all that happened was that more energy was drained from his body at a faster pace. So he had decided to ignore the growing feeling of being on the brink of insanity because he didn't have the possibility to work out and get stronger, and sat down against the wall to preserve his strength.

If he only could get his swords… He grit his teeth by the thought of his lost swords and felt his shoulders tensing as he could guess who probably already had laid her fingers on his treasure. That damn copycat of a Marine was not going to add his precious swords to her collection, not as long as Zoro was still alive. But to get to the swords, he had to get out of the damn cell first. He was getting more and more restless now that he had started to think of his swords. It had been bad enough to stay calm when the thought of his nakama kept popping up in his mind, but to know that Quena's katana wasn't there with him was making it so much harder to stay calm and collected.

The urge to walk up to the bars of the cell and simply rip the door off its hinges was getting harder and harder to keep at bay. Zoro was well aware that if he tried that and actually managed to get out, there were still six Marines armed with guns out there in the corridor, and after ripping a steel door off its hinges, not even Zoro would have enough strength left in his body to fight off six Marines – at least not unarmed. The swordsman smirked at the very thought of getting out from that oversized hamster cage only to be shot to death by six Marines. Not a very suiting end for someone who was going to be the best swordsman in the world.

"Hey, you there!"

The metallic sound of metal against metal, followed by an annoyed voice calling for his attention snapped Zoro out of his thoughts. Outside the bars of his cell stood one of the Marines who had escorted the new prisoner to his cell. The soldier was tapping the barrel of his gun against the bars of Zoro's cell, looking at the swordsman with an impatient expression on his face. As Zoro looked around, he noticed that there was no trace of the other five Marines in the corridor. He turned back to the soldier in front of him and smirked again.

"Are you talking to me?" he asked, making his voice sound as threatening as possible.

As he had hoped, the Marine suddenly looked more nervous than before. The young soldier reminded Zoro a lot of Usopp, from the nervous attitude to the mask created to hide said nervousness. The resemblance increased when Zoro caught a glimpse of a slingshot tucked in the back pocket of the Marine's pants. After seeing Usopp working on improving his favorite weapon so many times aboard the Going Merry (and making so much noise that it was impossible to get some decent sleep anywhere on the boat while he was at it) Zoro was absolutely certain that the slingshot in the Marine's pocket belonged to the marksman. It couldn't be any other slingshot.

"What are you smiling about?" the Marine asked him, apparently struggling to keep his voice steady.

Zoro's face cracked up in a demon-like grin and he slowly got up from the floor, his eyes locked on the soldier outside the bars of his prison.

"I was just imagining what your face would look like if I did this…"

In the blink of an eye, he pushed his body towards its limits and moved up to the bars of his cell, standing right in front of the Marine as he looked down at the nervous young man. One of Zoro's arms shot out between the metal bars, grabbing the soldier by the throat with one hand. The Marine was so startled by the swordsman's swift movements that he dropped his gun onto the floor and stared up at Zoro with wide eyes, almost as if he didn't know what to do in a situation like that - he had probably thought that Zoro had been weak and maybe even dying with all the injuries and open wounds on his body.

The demon-like grin on Zoro's face didn't fade as he looked at the terrified soldier in front of him. Instead, he lifted the Marine by the throat until the man's feet no longer had any contact with the floor. The marine stared directly into his eyes, his face pale and glazed with sweat.

"Not exactly the look I imagined, but pretty close." Zoro said, his eyes narrowing.

The noise in the cellblock had risen quite a bit as the other prisoners noticed what was going on. Two pirates from across the hall were urging the swordsman to kill the Marine while others were begging to be released. Zoro ignored the many voices calling for his attention and reached out his free hand to take the slingshot from the Marine's back pocket. Holding it up in front of the young man's face, he narrowed his eyes even more.

"I think this belongs to our marksman. Oh, and what have we here?"

Tucking the slingshot in the back of his haramaki, Zoro reached out for the bunch of keys that was attached to the Marine's belt. Once he held the keys in his hand, he let go of the soldier's throat and moved his hand to the back of the man's head. With one swift movement, he slammed the young man's head against the metal bars of the cell and watched the soldier sink down onto the floor as the noise in the hall rose to a new limit. Reaching out his hand through the bars of the cell to put the key in the lock, the creaking sound of the large iron doors opening was heard over the noise in the cellblock. Turning his head towards the doors, Zoro let his grin turn into a light smirk.

Now things were getting interesting.


	2. Keeping high spirits

_Clang_

_Clang._

_Clang._

The noise echoed in the long hallway of the old empty cellblock. There was a desperate tone in the noise that kept Usopp from protesting, even as the monotonous clanging rang in his ears. He was sitting by the metal bars of his cell with his back against the concrete wall and his legs out in front of him, feeling his head pound painfully by every loud clang that echoed between the walls. But he was still happy to notice that the pain in his head took some of his attention from the throbbing mass in the middle of his face that was his nose. It had been broken in at least three places during the battle he had fought together with Chopper outside Albana, and even if he was quite used to getting his nose broken, the pain was something he had a hard time adjusting to.

_Clang._

Tugging at the brown bloodstained bandana that was tied tightly around his aching head, Usopp closed his eyes, leaned his head back against the wall and wondered how many clangs it would take until he went completely insane. He could hardly think in the noise, not even to try to figure out a way of escaping from the cells, but he still didn't say one word in protest.

"Usopp?"

The voice coming from the other side of the concrete wall behind him was thick with hidden worry. Usopp opened his eyes and turned his head so that his left cheek rested against the rough concrete. He lifted his left hand and rubbed his forehead lightly.

_Clang._

"What is it, Nami?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as calm and collected as possible, even though the noise coming from the other side of the hall was making him want to stand up and scream.

"You're not worried, are you? I mean, he'll get us out in the last minute as always, right?"

Usopp hadn't been worried. In fact, he had almost assumed that they were going to get out of trouble in the last minute like they always did. But his friend's question triggered a chain reaction in his mind. The last time he could remember seeing Luffy was when they arrived to the Marine base. The captain had been unconscious, carried into the large concrete building by two Marines without even waking up. Usopp didn't know what was wrong with their captain, but now he suspected that the risk that they wouldn't be able to count on their trump card this time was pretty big. _However_, he told himself, _there's no way I'm telling that to Nami._

_Clang._

"Of course, Nami," he said instead, trying to make his voice sound as cheery as possible. "You know him. Nothing in the world can keep him from becoming the Pirate King, not even these pesky Marines."

He hesitated for a moment, not sure if he should continue talking or not. Then he could hear his own voice join the clanging echo between the walls of his own cell.

"You know, before he met any of us, he was sailing around over East Blue on his own, and he ended up being captured by the Snake tribe of Bharadia in southern East Blue. The Snake-people looked almost like humans, but they had long poisonous fangs and they didn't have any legs. Instead, they had long snake-bodies where the legs would have been. Like centaurs, but with the bodies of snakes instead of horses. And they were really angry at Luffy. Do you know why?"

_Clang._

The lie made Usopp's stomach twist uncomfortably. Even if it wasn't the best time to tell one of his stories, he felt that if they could only get their mind off their current situation, they could get a chance to regain some of their high spirits. The only thing that bothered the marksman was the annoying clanging that clouded his imagination and made it harder to come up with a punchline for his story.

"No, why?"

Usopp could hear the smile in Nami's voice and he could feel his worries ease a little. Nami had never fallen for any of his lies, and she would probably never fall for one either, but to hear her smile at his story was giving Usopp the impression that the navigator shared his desire to think of something other than the situation they were in.

_Clang._

"Well, the Snake people had caught Luffy eating the food that was going to be sacrificed to their mightiest god, Thuli'in, so they weren't all too happy about having him as a guest in their village. Then the Snake Elder spoke up, suggesting that they should sacrifice Luffy to Thuli'in instead, since he had eaten all the food that was meant for the god. So they quickly surrounded him, and Luffy was just about to surrender, when…"

Usopp's voice trailed off in the middle of the sentence when a soft laughter rose from the other side of the wall. Judging by the echo of the laughter, Usopp guessed that Nami was sitting by the wall right behind him.

"Now I know that you're lying, Usopp!" Nami said, laughing again. "Luffy – surrender? I don't even think he knows the meaning of that word. Are you sure that you're not mixing this up with one of your stories, oh brave and noble Warrior of the four oceans?"

_Clang._

Now it was Usopp's turn to laugh. It felt like a heavy weight was lifted from his chest once the laughter bubbled out. He playfully slammed his fist against the wall behind him, turning his head to look up at the low ceiling. Closing his eyes as his ears once again registered the rhythmic clanging, he smiled softly.

"Stop interrupting me! Anyway… There he was, surrounded by a whole tribe of Snake-people with no chance of escaping…"

"Why didn't he just use his Gomu Gomu powers?" Nami asked from behind the wall, her voice sounding more and more interested in the story.

_Clang._

Usopp found the eager and interested tone in Nami's voice soothing. Her voice reminded him of Kaya, and the memory sent a needle of disappointment aimed at himself through his heart. Usopp wasn't supposed to sit there in some stupid prison cell in some stupid Marine base while telling stupid lies to keep his stupid mood from dropping. No, he was supposed to sail the seas to become the brave warrior of the sea he always had dreamt of becoming. Then he was supposed to return home to his island and tell Kaya and his old clan about the many adventures he had been out on.

He shook his head lightly, wincing as the headache flared up again. It wasn't a good time to start thinking of what had happened.

_Clang._

"Why he didn't use his Gomu Gomu powers?" Usopp asked, surprised by how cheerful his voice sounded. "Have you ever seen a snake ready to strike? It moves faster than the blink of an eye – and Luffy wasn't nearly as strong or quick as he is now. The Snake-people kept moving away from his attacks while they tried to crush him with their long snake-bodies and bite him with their poisonous fangs. All Luffy could do was to dodge the attacks and try his best to hit his enemies. Suddenly, they had him pinned up against a building and were arguing over who was going to get the honor of preparing the sacrifice."

_Clang._

As the echo of the noise faded away, Usopp could hear Nami chuckle lightly on the other side of the concrete wall. He smiled and tried to force his mind to come up with an end for his story. The headache was giving him a hard time trying to make the story up as he went on talking.

"At first, Luffy wasn't sure what the snake-people were doing since they had stopped attacking him. So he relaxed a little and watched the tribe argue about him. Very soon, he got bored of watching the arguing snakes, so he tried to call for their attention to continue the battle. However, the snake-people paid only little attention to him before going back to their argument."

"Didn't that make him annoyed?" Nami asked from her cell on the other side of the wall.

Usopp nodded to himself, almost completely absorbed in his own story. It wasn't a very good story, and he was well aware of it. But he figured that he could always blame the poor storyline on the fact that it wasn't one of his own adventures if anyone would complain.

"Of course. He even tried to punch the one standing closest to him just to get their attention, but the snake-man just moved out of the way and glared at Luffy. Luffy just glared back for a moment before he put his fingers in his mouth, stretched out his cheeks and rolled his eyes like a madman."

_Clang._

A soft chuckle rose from behind the wall again. Usopp was having a hard time imagining Nami laughing at what had to be his worst story ever, but when he thought of the stress they were all feeling, he figured that she could have reacted in other – and probably worse – ways.

"The snake-people fell silent as they noticed him making faces at them. At first, they were just staring at him, but then they started to laugh. They laughed so hard that after a moment or two, every single one of them had tied knots on their long bodies. Some even looked like giant balloon-animals – poodles, parrots, lizards… almost every animal you can think of – and some even looked like weird balloon-hats. So Luffy had no problem with getting away after eating the rest of the food in the village. Of course, he was pretty miffed about missing out on such an awesome battle, but he took that out on some pirates who tried to steal his little boat later that day."

By the time he finished his story, both Usopp and Nami were laughing until their sides were sore. The laughter was hollow, and there wasn't much enthusiasm in it, but Usopp still felt a little better as he laughed. But as the laughter faded, reality crept up on him like a silent predator. He remembered that they were still inside locked cells in an old cellblock in some Marine base, and that their chances to escape were getting narrower for every hour that passed. The clanging noise was suddenly so much harder to ignore.

_Clang._

_Clang._

_Clang._

Usopp moved up to the metal bars of his cell and leaned his head back against the concrete wall behind him. He looked out between the bars towards the other side of the hall where the noise came from. He could see the bars of one of the cells rattle with every clang and sighed.

"Do you think he'll ever stop?" Usopp heard himself ask.

_Clang._

_Clang._

"I doubt it…" Nami answered. Usopp registered that all emotions in her voice were long gone. "He's been doing that non-stop for a day and a half now. Ever since he woke up, I suppose. I'm worried about him."

There was a moment of silence that broke the steady rhythm in the clanging noise. It was a silence that pressed against Usopp's ears in a more painful way that the echoing clangs. One last _clang_ echoed through the hall, this time louder and with a more desperate tone than before. Then a dull thud was heard as from something falling to the floor.

"Shit…"

Usopp's ears perked up by the sound of the hoarse voice coming from the other side of the hall, and he leaned closer to the bars of his cell. From his position, he could only see a faint shadow of the man sitting on the floor in his cell. But judging by the way he was leaning forward over his bent knees, Sanji looked exhausted.

There was a faint rustle from the other side of the wall behind Usopp's back as Nami moved inside her cell. Usopp tried to guess what the navigator was doing as he listened to her footsteps walking across the concrete floor.

"Sanji-kun? Are you alright?"

"Don't – don't worry about me, Nami-san," Sanji's voice was hoarse and heavy as it echoed from across the hall, and Usopp could clearly hear that the cook was trying to hide his fatigue behind his usual cheery voice. "These bars are stronger than they look, but I'll break them down if I have to tear the walls to pieces."

Usopp listened to Sanji's short, rattling breaths for a few minutes as the silence fell over them. There was definitely something wrong with the cook, and Usopp thought that he could remember Chopper stating that Sanji's ribs probably were broken.

Once the clanging noise finally had stopped, Usopp could feel his mind starting to work freely again. Slowly, his brain switched to inventing mode, the most imaginative state of his mind – except from when he was lying. He got up from the floor and leaned against the metalbars of his cell, looking out into the corridor to find something that could help them get out. To the right, he could only see a mop and a bucket standing by the wall at the far end of the corridor – nothing that could be used to escape, sadly enough. But as Usopp turned his head to his left, he saw a huge, rusty old controlpanel next to the heavy iron-door that lead out from the empty cellblock. By the looks of it, there had to be some controls that opened the doors to the cells on that panel.

Usopp reached up for his goggles, pulled down the left lens over his eye – the lens that hadn't been partially destroyed during the battle between Sanji and Mr.2 Bon Clay in Albana – and tried to read the small signs below each button or lever. As he zoomed in on the controlpanel, he was very pleased to see that it was very old and not very advanced.

There were four levers, about forty small and one large button on the controlpanel. According to the signs below each of them, Usopp soon learnt that the levers were light switches connected to the four lamps hanging from the ceiling in the corridor. The large button in the top right corner of the panel was a switch that caused a security lock-down in case a riot would break loose in the cellblock.

Finally, Usopp managed to read the rusted signs under the smaller buttons. There was one button to open a cell-door and one to close it for each of the twenty cells in the two floors of the cellblock. Even though the buttons were all pretty rusted, Usopp was convinced that it would be easy to open the doors if he only knew which button was connected to which door.

The marksman growled and put the lens back above his forehead.

"If I only had my weapons…"

"Oh, that reminds me…" Sanji said from across the hall, a hint of amusement in his hoarse voice. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to two of my best frying pans, would you, Usopp? I couldn't find them when I made the last inventory check back on Going Merry.

"Eh?" The image of the fake 5-ton hammer he had used against Mr.4 outside Albana flashed before Usopp's eyes. "No! Why would I know anything about that?"

Sanji chuckled. "Somehow, I knew you would say that. Then would you mind explaining the two dented frying pans I found at your battle scene?"

"I shall!" Usopp said quite loudly as he folded his arms across his chest, feeling a bit desperate to change the subject. "But not now! Anyway, as I was saying, if that damn Marine hadn't stolen my slingshot and my pachinko, I think I would have got us out of here by now."

"**What?**" Nami and Sanji said in unison, their voices echoing between the walls. "What are you saying?"

"I would already have got us out of these concrete boxes if I had my slingshot," Usopp repeated himself. There was a new clanging noise coming from Sanji's cell as the cook rammed his foot against the bars.

"Why the hell haven't you said anything about this before?" Sanji shouted from his cell.

"If _someone_ hadn't gone completely insane and started to try to kick his way out of his cell directly when he woke up, I would have thought about it yesterday!" Usopp snapped in reply, reaching out to grab the bars of his cell. He felt a bit less agitated when Sanji didn't talk back. "But I don't know what to do since I don't have my slingshot…"

"Well, can't you use something else?" Sanji asked in a lighter, but still annoyed tone.

Usopp thought for a while, his eyes never leaving the controlpanel as he measured the distance in his mind.

"If I had some ammo, I might be able to make a primitive sling…" he said, mostly to himself. "Pachinko would be the best, but since I don't have any, pebbles would do just fine… But there are no rocks in my cell. These Marines are far too pedantic about their cells."

"There are some lumps of concrete here in my cell," Sanji said with a hint of hidden fatigue in his voice. "Most of them are about the size of the tangerines on Nami-san's trees back on the ship. The rest is mostly sand."

Usopp shook his head, absentmindedly scratching his chin. "They're too large, I'm afraid."

"I'll take care of that…"

Usopp could hear a shuffling sound and something scraping against the concretefloor on the other side of the corridor. Judging by the sound coming from Sanji's cell, Usopp suspected that the cook wasn't as alright as he claimed to be.

"What are you--"

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. A dull _thump_ was heard, followed by a crackle and the sound of pebbles scattering over the floor. Usopp tried to poke his head out between the bars of his prison and saw Sanji's arm reaching out from his cell, throwing a handful of small rocks across the hall. The pebbles rolled across the floor up to Usopp's cell, and the marksman reached out for them.

"Perfect," he said, looking at the pebbles in his hand. They were about the same size as his Tabasco Stars.

Usopp took off his goggles, pulled the bandana from his head and leaned against the bars of his cell. Putting the goggles back on his head and pulling down the lenses in front of his eyes, he checked the distance to the controlpanel again before folding his bandana into a primitive sling. When he felt that he was ready, he took a deep breath and aimed carefully.


	3. In the dark

Chopper dipped the thin white cloth in the bowl of water and placed it on the captain's forehead. He sighed and went back to mixing some ingredients in his mortar. If Luffy's fever didn't go down soon, there was a big risk that Chopper wouldn't be able to do much for him. Not in the bad surroundings of the cold and damp prison in the Marine Headquarters, anyway.

The doctor remembered vaguely that the King of Alabasta had said that the poison was out of Luffy's system, but as he watched the man lying there on the plank bed with his cheeks flushed and his skin grey and lifeless, he wasn't sure if that was really true. He didn't even know where the poison could have come from – no one had told him about that. If he had known what kind of poison it was, it would have been easier to treat the symptoms.

After all, who knew what kind of strange creature could have stung Luffy in the desert city?

Chopper stopped grinding his herbs and looked at the small table he was working by. He didn't have close to all the ingredients he needed, but this was all he had been granted to use.

In fact, he had been lucky that he had been allowed to look after his captain in the first place.

Sighing once more, he reached out for a small bowl on the table, poured some hot water from the thermos jug into it and sprinkled the ground herbs over the water. Within a few seconds, the water shifted to a dark red color and smelled faintly of cinnamon. Chopper smiled faintly and jumped down from his chair.

Reaching up to take the bowl from the table, he glanced over at Luffy, who was shifting uneasily where he was lying on his back under the dusty blue blanket. The captain's left arm was dangling over the edge of the bed, his knuckles brushing the cold, grimy floor, and the blue blanket had almost slipped off his feet when he had turned around in his sleep earlier.

Putting down the medicine next to the bowl of water on the table next to the head of the plank bed, Chopper silently moved to wrap the blanket around Luffy's feet again. He also took the captain's pulse before he tucked Luffy's arm back under the covers. It was still a bit irregular, but Chopper was just relieved that it wasn't getting weaker.

Chopper sighed and removed the white towel from Luffy's forehead before he dipped it in the water again. The water was cold, and he shivered as the chilly liquid covered his hooves. He didn't mind cold weather, but cold _water_ was something completely different. After he placed the towel on Luffy's forehead again, he shook his hooves to rid them of some of the water that had gathered in his fur.

Almost as if the cold from the cloth triggered something within him, Luffy turned his head towards the wall with a pained expression on his face. Chopper could hear him mumble something under his breath and couldn't keep his curiosity at bay, so he leaned in closer to listen.

"Shanks… take me with you… I want to become a pirate… I'll be the King of Pirates, Shanks… Shanks, please…"

Leaning back, Chopper wondered who this 'Shanks' could be. He also wondered if Luffy would be offended if he asked about it.

For as long as he had been a part of the Straw Hat clan, no one had asked him anything about his past. He had assumed that Nami knew a little, since he had heard her mention him when she had been talking with the Doctorine. How else could she have known that he was a doctor?

Shaking his head, he changed his appearance from his small and fluffy form to the tall, muscular and more human-like mix between human and reindeer. Even though he did feel more comfortable in his small form, and the fact that his large form was sort of clumsy at times, he did enjoy being tall sometimes.

Kneeling by the plank bed, he carefully lifted the captain's head from the flat pillow folded from Luffy's red vest and reached for the small bowl of medicine on the bedside table. Putting the bowl to Luffy's lips and tipping it so that the warm liquid dripped into his mouth, Chopper was glad to notice that the captain managed to swallow the herbal medicine without choking. When he took the almost empty bowl from the man's lips and carefully put his head back onto the pillow, Luffy's eyes fluttered open, and he looked dazedly up at Chopper. The scar under his left eye was awfully white against the red in his cheeks.

"Chopper… where are the others? Are they sleeping? Why does my head hurt?"

Chopper smiled weakly, fighting the tears. The fogged gaze in the captain's eyes told him that Luffy was still almost sleeping, and was probably not going to remember anything when he got better. So he nodded.

"Yes, they are sleeping, Luffy. You should go back to sleep as well."

He could feel the lie slip off his tongue, and he was pretty amazed over how easy it was to lie like that. Because of that, he decided to ask Usopp if all the stories he had told really were true. The rest of the crew always told him that he shouldn't believe everything Usopp said, especially if it sounded very exaggerated or dangerous. But they had already been through dangerous adventures that he would never had believed were possible, so how was he supposed to know when Usopp was telling the truth?

Then he noticed that Luffy was looking at him with a strange, almost piercing look in his fogged eyes, and Chopper wondered how long he could have been absorbed in his own thoughts. For a few more seconds, Luffy looked at him without saying a word, and then he closed them and nodded feebly.

"I'll do that. Tell Sanji that I want lots of meat for breakfast."

"I'll remember to tell him that," Chopper promised his friend.

When Luffy had fallen into a deep sleep again, Chopper changed from his large man-beast form back to his normal body and walked up to the bars of their cell. He didn't touch them, since he knew all too well that Seastone would drain all his strength in a matter of seconds. Just standing next to them made him feel strangely dizzy, but it wasn't something he couldn't handle. At the moment, he couldn't do anything but hope that the medicine would make Luffy's fever go down, and he started to feel quite restless.

There was so little he knew about his captain, and he wondered if the rest of the crew knew more than he did, or if they just hadn't bothered asking, just as they hadn't asked him anything about himself yet.

But maybe 'bothered' was the wrong choice of word. Maybe they didn't need to know. Maybe that was the reason why the crew seemed to be so close to each other - because they trusted one another and felt comfortable around each other without asking too many questions. Maybe they could all sense that their different personalities and goals were exactly the things that made them stand proud together, wielding perhaps the strongest power in the world.

The power of friendship, undying loyalty and the love of a family. The kind of power that made them laugh together and gave them the strength and the courage to go on, even in the darkest times.

Chopper sniffled. He wondered why he was part of such a powerful clan. He wasn't brave like the others; he was just a reindeer with a blue nose who dabbled in medicine. Sure, he had fought against Wapol and his servants on Drum Island together with Luffy and Sanji, and he had defeated Mr.4 and Miss Merry Christmas in Alabasta along with Usopp, but both times, he had also been fighting his instincts to run away from the danger. Surely, that wasn't courage: he had just been protecting the things and people who meant the most to him. Doctor Hilruk's flag, Drum Island, Vivi and her country…

He thought for a while, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his torn cloak. Maybe that was a type of courage, after all. To do something you thought you were too afraid to do… Maybe even reindeers could be brave, then? And somehow, Luffy had known that. Why would he otherwise have invited him to go with them? Of course, they needed his knowledge when it came to medicine, and Luffy had said that he had never seen a cooler reindeer with seven forms in his life. Chopper had for a moment contemplated how many other reindeers with seven forms Luffy could have seen, but then they had celebrated their victory and all his worries and problems had vanished.

This time, they weren't celebrating their victory, even though their enemy had been the toughest one so far. Chopper didn't even know where the rest of the crew was, but he wished that they had been locked in the same room as him and Luffy. There were five empty cages in the room that the others could have been locked inside. Chopper wished that he could hear Usopp telling an amazing story, that Nami would tell him not to believe the marksman's stories and that Sanji and Zoro would fight. Then everything would almost be back to normal, and he wouldn't have had to lie about them being asleep.

Chopper could feel the tears burning behind his eyelids, and he wished that his captain would get better and wake up so that he didn't have to be alone in the dark, empty cellblock. He didn't want to cry, but the tears came anyway, first in silent sobs but he was soon on the verge of crying out loud. As the tears trickled down his cheeks, everything he was feeling and worrying about seemed to become more distant and less painful.

After a few minutes, he had calmed down a bit and wiped his nose on his sleeve again. He felt a bit ashamed that he had been standing there, crying his eyes out like a baby when he really should have been checking how his captain was doing.

He was jerked back to reality by a faint moaning coming from the other side of the cage. Flinching, the reindeer hesitated for a moment before he scurried over to the plank bed where Luffy was tossing and turning under his blanket.

"Oh no!" Chopper squeaked, putting a hoof on Luffy's forehead to check his temperature, even though the captain's pained facial expression and the increased flush in his cheeks told him exactly what the temperature did. The fever was rising quickly again, in spite of the medicine.

Chopper suddenly felt completely cold, as if the temperature had dropped with more than ten degrees, and he glanced towards the table where the dried herbs still lay in small, neat piles. What if he had put the wrong herbs in the medicine? One of the first things Doctorine had taught him was that if he was to put only one herb or ingredient of the wrong kind in the medicine, it could be lethal to the patient.

He could feel the panic creeping up on him. What if he just had made the same mistake Doctor Hilruk had made so many times in his life? He didn't know what to do; he felt so small and scared, like an animal in a cage. A part of his panicked mind reminded him a moment later that he _was_ an animal and that he _was_ in a cage. This made him laugh a little, but the laughter was false and echoed hollowly between the walls, so he stopped.

Looking at Luffy with fear in his round eyes, Chopper felt that he was afraid. Afraid that he was responsible for the fever rising again, afraid that the Marines would come back and take Luffy or both of them away… But most of all, he was afraid that the captain could die before they got out from the cell - if they ever got out in the first place.

He could feel the tears welling up again, but this time, he fought them and hurried to pick up the thin white towel that had fallen to the floor and tried to cool Luffy's brow to ease his pain. Chopper didn't dare to mix any more medicine, as he didn't know if there were more herbs on that table that wasn't supposed to be in the medicine.

"Damn it, Luffy," he heard himself mutter as he tried to keep Luffy from moving around too much. "You're not going to die! Not in a cold dump of a Marine base and definitely not like this!"

* * *

_Chapter three is done. This is my first real fan fiction, and I'm having the time of my life D_

_Umi – You know, I was actually worried about the crew myself X3 so you're not the only one. There's going to be more chapters coming, and I hope that I can keep them all in character._


	4. Demon unleashed

_Click._

He could barely hear the snapping sound as the lock opened over the noise in the cellblock, but he could feel the door move. Every single prisoner on both floors seemed to have noticed what had happened with the young Marine.

The green-haired swordsman pushed the door to the cell wide open, causing the unconscious Marine who had had the marksman's slingshot in his possession to skid over the floor towards the big iron doors.

Just as he stepped out from the cell, the iron doors swung up with a creaking sound and five Marines came in. It seemed to be the same five who had come in earlier with the new prisoner. As they saw him stand in the hallway outside his cell, their faces seemed to turn at least three shades paler than normal.

The swordsman could just barely hide another grin.

It would be unwise to act overly confident when he didn't have his weapons. He felt awkwardly out of balance without the three katanas hanging against his right hip. His eyes swept over the surroundings as he untied the black band around his left upper arm.

Unfortunately, there were nothing within his reach that could be used as a weapon.

Tying the black band around his head, he never took his eyes off the Marine soldiers who seemed to have been momentarily stunned to see him out of his cell. Maybe because they had thought he had been broken down or because they just had underestimated him.

Two of the Marines regained control over their bodies and moved over to their unconscious colleague and were checking him for life signs. The other three were slowly reaching for their weapons.

The swordsman leaned back. He knew very well that it could be a lot harder to defend against guns than swords. The outcome of the battle could depend on the Marine's choice of weapons. He could hear the noise in the background grow fainter as he set his focus on the opponents in front of him.

The second it took for the Marines to draw their weapons felt like hours. The swordsman didn't know why it felt like time had slowed down, but it made him annoyed.

There was a gleam of sunlight from one of the small windows by the ceiling reflected against polished metal that caught his eyes. Swords. The swordsman lashed out, aiming for the left-most Marine. Before the soldier had the time to react, he was flung to the floor, knocked out from the impact between his face and the swordsman's fist. The half-drawn sword slipped out from its scabbard and fell to the floor with a clattering sound.

The swordsman bent down and picked the sword up, even though stealing someone else's sword wasn't something he felt particularly good about. It was a clumsy sword with a thin, short hilt and a broad, thick blade. But it was definitely better than nothing. As he lifted the sword, he felt the warmth of the sword's soul against his palm and was almost surprised to find such a strong spark in the Marine's sword. Who would have thought a Marine could own such a sword?

His faint amazement was interrupted by the war cry of the two Marines who had stood by with their swords drawn and watched their colleague get punched out. They attacked him together, and as the blades of their swords met the sword the swordsman held in his hand, he could feel the agony of the sword being forced to fight the Marines. He could feel its wish to give way for the soldier's swords and got a firmer grip around the hilt of the sword. It could hardly be a bigger challenge than his cursed katana, Sandai Kitetsu, whose thirst for blood sometimes caused it to cut him during exercise.

Parrying another three blows from the two marines, he dodged a fourth and lashed out for the closest soldier. The edge of his sword barley missed the Marine's chest, as the man managed to dodge. The swordsman cursed silently and aimed a diagonal cut at the same Marine, but as he brought the sword up, he froze and turned around, his sword meeting the sword of a third Marine soldier with a toneless clanging. He was a large, blue-haired man, almost the same length as the swordsman.

"Attacking from behind, eh?" he said, a devilish smirk taking form on his lips.

He pushed the Marine off his sword, causing the large man to stumble slightly backwards. The swordsman then brought his sword down, striking the Marine diagonally across the chest, slightly surprised over how easy the sword agreed to cut through the man's defenses.

The large man landed on the floor with a thud, his swords slipping from his hand and clattered onto the floor. Raising an eyebrow, the green-haired man looked at the sword in his left hand as he quickly reached for the fallen man's sword.

"Didn't really like that guy, did you?" he muttered, not quite able to hide his amusement.

As he reached the second sword, grabbed the hilt and turned to face his remaining opponents, he frowned and glanced at the sword in his right hand. He didn't feel anything from the sword, not even a hint of warmth that revealed the soul within the blade. The sword was dead.

The Marine soldiers who were still conscious stared at him, two of them with their swords raised and a lanky one who was still crouching by the soldier who had had the stolen slingshot.

"Lolonoa Zoro!" on of the soldiers with the swords drawn yelled at him over the dull noise in the background, apparently a little more high-pitched than he had intended it. "You better surrender, there's no way you're getting out of here. The Marine won't be beaten by the likes of you, we'll..."

While the Marine was talking, the swordsman crossed his arms over his chest and rushed towards the soldiers.

"Two swords... Demon Cleave!"

Uncrossing his arms, he caught the two soldiers more or less off guard and the cut sent them both flying, their uniforms shredded and stained with blood. They crashed into the last conscious soldier and landed on the floor without moving again.

"Wasting my damn time, that's what you are doing..." the swordsman growled and let his arms drop, still holding on to the swords.

No longer focusing on the battle, he was suddenly more aware of the noise around him. The howls and screams of pure excitement had turned into cheering and calls of "C'mon, let us out of here!" but the swordsman ignored them and headed for the iron gate, absentmindedly tying the swords to his haramaki.

Now he had to find the others. He opened the door, made sure that the slingshot was still securely tucked in his waistband and stepped out into the quiet, empty corridor outside the cellblock.

* * *

_Author's note: Hmm... okay, I've never written an action scene before, and I think it's kind of obvious. I know very little of swordfighting and such, but I just have to practice, right? )_

_AstroKender – You know, I'm not sure where this will end... I have an idea for the last chapter, but I have a feeling that it will take a few more chapters to reach that..._

_Talythia Starseeker – I thank you for your great comment. I actually would feel weird pairing up characters like so many authors seem to do. About the crew's past experiences: when I was reading through the manga, I realized that the only one who actually told anyone about his past was Sanji aboard the Baratie, telling his story in front of only Luffy. The other crewmembers just thought about their past themselves. And about the lack of reviews: I won't, every time I get a review, I bounce and giggle very childishly. I actually didn't think anyone would read my story._


	5. The promise

After throwing the concrete pebbles across the corridor, the blonde man sank down on the floor. He dragged himself to the bars of his cell, glancing at the hole in the concrete wall where he had aimed his first kick so many hours ago. Deep in the concrete, the same kind of metal bars ran around the whole cell. He had been telling the truth before, the cage was probably strong enough to be able to hold Red-Legged Zeff – but maybe not when the old fart had been in his prime.

The cook looked down at his feet. He could feel his own blood gather in his black shoes, whose shine had matted after hours of endless kicks.

_Red-Legged Sanji,_ he thought, almost laughing out loud as the thought came up in his mind. _But since it's my own blood, I don't think it would count..._

Trying to kick the door open had been a really bad idea, he had understood that all along, but the moment he was locked in that cell, he had felt like a wild animal in a cage.

Out of habit, he put his hand in his pocket, reaching for the pack of cigarettes he already knew wasn't there. They had been taken from him along with his matches. Probably so that he wouldn't set himself or the shabby blue blanket on fire.

He could hear the sound of pebbles scraping against the floor and looked up in time to spot the marksman's left hand reach out and grab a handful of concrete pieces and then withdraw back into the cell between the bars.

Leaning against the metal bars, the cook's eyes rested on the black cross just above the marksman's wrist for a moment before the hand disappeared inside the cell.

"If you miss, I'll break your nose, Usopp," he said, leaning the side of his head against the bars. "Just so you know." There was no reply.

Then the cook flinched. Something had hit him right between the eyes. It had felt like a grain of sand, just like in one of the fierce sandstorms of the desert, but when he looked down, he found a piece of concrete settled in a fold in his blue and black pinstriped shirt. He blinked out of surprise and looked out from his cell.

"What do you think of my aim?" the sniper's voice echoed across the hall, and now his voice had lost all the fear and worry from before. He was clearly deep within his own fantasy world as usual.

The cook smirked. He knew that if the sniper had meant to hurt him with the rock, it wouldn't have felt like a grain of sand tossed by a strong wind.

"I think that if you can open all three cells and get us out of here, I promise not to cook anything that is about to go bad – for a week."

"I'll take your word on that," the sniper's amused voice echoed in the room.

The cook heard him start to ramble about the time he defeated a zillion-or-so monsters with only his trusted slingshot and one lead star as ammunition. He groaned silently and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. He really needed a cigarette.

* * *

_Short chapter! I beg your forgiveness, but I just couldn't come up with anything else to write..._

_Laineychan - I didn't know my idea was that original ; I'm sure there are other people than me who have thought of this before._


	6. Marksman in action

The navigator was standing against the metal bars, leaning her bodyweight on her right leg as she listened to the conversation between the other two prisoners. It seemed like both of them had turned back into themselves again instead of those horrible tense and seemingly empty shells who answered to Usopp and Sanji's names.

Listening to the marksman's tall tale earlier had been refreshing in a way she hadn't thought was possible. In a way, she had almost tried to believe in the story. It had made her remember that she wasn't alone anymore. Just in this room, there were two others who already had put their lives on the line for her and for each other. Not to mention the other three who were held somewhere in the large building.

They had been separated as they arrived to the large marine base somewhere east of Alabasta; the Captain and the doctor had probably been taken to cells built to hold people who had the powers of the Devil's Fruits, and the swordsman could have been put anywhere where they kept prisoners with high bounties on their heads.

And the rest of them, without bounties or special powers, had been put in one cell block to wait for whatever Destiny – and the Marines – had in store for them.

"Nami? Can you hear me?"

The navigator blinked. She had heard someone calling her name and vaguely recognized the voice as Usopp's. When she returned to reality, she realized that she was leaning forwards against the metal bars of her cell, her forehead pressed against the cold metal. As she looked to the right, she could see the shadow of the blonde cook who seemed to be watching her silently from in side his cell across the hall. His silence was giving her an eerie feeling, since she was so used to his normal lovesick manners. It was almost as if his eyes – even the one hidden under the blonde hair – were looking straight into her heart. That made her feel very uneasy. Her thoughts and feelings weren't something she wanted anyone else to know about.

"Nami, why aren't you answering me?" the marksman's voice called again, this time with a slightly pleading tone.

"Ah…" she said, lifting her left hand to her forehead. "Sorry, Usopp. I was just thinking… What is it?"

The answer didn't come at once. The marksman hesitated as if he thought of asking her what she had been thinking of and then decided not to do that.

"I just wanted to suggest that you move away from the bars, just in case one of the rocks would stray away from the target… Not that I ever miss my targets, but…"

He sounded as if he was about to start with another tall tale, so Nami hurried to reply.

"Good idea, Usopp. Thanks." she said, moving further into her cell. "Now get us out of here."

She could hear him move on the other side of the wall, the sound of his arms scraping against the metal bars as he reached outside his cell. Then there was a soft _swoosh_ that could have come from his sling being swung in the air, but the navigator wasn't sure. She could hear the marksman mutter something under his breath and smiled to herself. He was narrating his own movements to himself.

The swooshing sound abruptly stopped and was quickly followed by a metallic clang over by the control panel and then the squeaking sound as the door to the cell straight across the hall from Nami's cell swung open. The navigator couldn't help but laugh. It would work; they would be free in no time. She could hear the cook hold back a similar laughter.

"Six days, Usopp," the cook said teasingly. "Get it right next time or I'll subtract another day from the bet."

The marksman didn't reply, only the soft sound of the sling, the clang and squeak as another gate was opened. Moving to her left without approaching the bars, the navigator could see that the gate to the cook's cell was wide open, but he was still inside and wasn't making any attempt to leave his cell.

Just as she was about to ask if something was wrong, she heard the marksman send away another projectile. This time, it was the door to her own cell that opened. But as she was about to rush out from the cell and up to the control panel, the marksman called out for her.

"Nami! Stay where you are!"

"What? Are you insane?"

She stared at the wall that divided her cell from the marksman's cell, trying to burn holes in it with her eyes. Then she made another attempt to leave her prison. This time, the voice of the cook was heard from across the hall and made her stop. His voice was heavy and he sounded tired and very serious.

"Nami-san… Please stay there. He has to open all three cells."

"What the...? Why can't I just…?"

"It's just something I have to do," the marksman said from the other side of the wall, his voice sounding cheery.

Another rock flew through the air, but it seemed like the marksman's aim had been a little bit off, because the sound of a door slamming shut was heard, followed by a muffled curse from the cook.

"Five days, shit sniper!" the cook yelled from across the hall, not able to hide the pain from being hit by the cell door as it slammed shut.

"Sorry!" Usopp called back. "It's just that my arm hasn't been the same since the time I was bitten by that basilisk during my trip to the Underworld. My aim was the best in the whole world before that…"

The cook groaned and didn't seem to bother to conceal it this time.

"Just get the doors open."

The navigator wondered if the sniper shut up because of the tone in the cook's voice or because he finally got a grasp of the situation they were in. Whatever the reason for his silence was, it seemed to make him focus harder on his target. Nami could see two rocks fly past her cell in a rapid succession. She couldn't see them hit their targets, but she couldn't have missed the sound of doors slamming open or the overjoyed laughter that rose once the sniper stepped out from his cell.

"There, I told you I could do it." he said, sounding very self-confident. "I believe we had a little wager…"

"Yeah, I remember," the cook replied from inside his cell. "No almost-gone-bad food for five days, not a minute longer."

"Hey! Those five days won't start until we get back to the Going Merry!"

"You didn't say anything about that…" the smug tone in the cook's voice was clear and serious and left Usopp muttering something under his breath.

Nami hurried out from her cell. She couldn't believe her ears, even though she should have expected them to keep her from getting them out of their cells faster because of a stupid wager. She could almost feel her blood boil with annoyance as she stepped out through the open door.

When she got out in the hall, she stopped and stared at the men in front of her and felt her irritation fade away. She had known that they both had taken quite a beating a few days ago, but she hadn't imagined them in such a bad shape.

Usopp's nose was bent in three places and his face, arms and chest were covered in cuts and bruises. He was holding his brown, bloodstained bandana in his hand and had his shoulder length, curly black hair down. Still, he was standing straight, apparently feeling good about himself for getting them out.

Sanji had donned and buttoned his black jacket and was leaning back with his hands in his pockets in something that probably was supposed to be a relaxed and laidback posture, but his back was tense and so was his facial expression. His breath was also very shallow, even though he was trying to hide that as well. A few tufts of his blonde hair were slightly reddish-brown and caked with dried blood and the half of his face that wasn't hidden behind his hair was lightly bruised.He also had a bump on his forehead, but Nami was pretty certain that it was from being hit by the cell door earlier.

But something that they both had in common and that the navigator couldn't avoid noticing was their eyes. Their eyes were more alive than ever before, and there was almost like the fire that had burned within them during the war in Alabasta had flared up again once they regained their freedom.

For a few minutes, they stood in the hallway, just raising their own spirits. Then, Sanji took his hands out of his pockets.

"How does 'let's get out of here' sound?"

Nami agreed. She didn't know how long it had been since the guards had gone by to check up on them the last time. The last thing they needed on their way to find the rest of the crew was to run into a group of armed Marine soldiers.

She could feel her crewmate's eyes on her and was about to ask what they were staring at when the pain in her right shoulder and her left ankle and foot made itself known again. She knew that she probably looked like a complete mess with her torn and bloodstained skirt and the cuts and bruises from her battle against Ms. Double Finger.

"I'm fine," she said shortly. "We should go before the guards get back here."

"Let's go then," Usopp said, his voice trembling a little. "Let's find Luffy and the others and get on with our adventure."

They all put their left hand on the door handle at the same time and pulled the large door open. Then, they silently left the room and started following a corridor leading into the base.

* * *

_Ha ha! Now we're getting somewhere, I hope. I'm so happy that there are people reading my story, it's a great feeling._

_Jaelle- Thank you, I wasn't sure if chapter four made any sense. I like the idea of swords having souls and in a way their own will. It makes the art of sword fighting even more challenging._

_Anime Kitty - I'm glad to have someone hooked. Now I just have to reel you in, don't I? I hope you'll like the new chapters as they come. I've already started writing on the next one._


	7. Duel

While Chopper fought to make Luffy's fever go down and while Usopp was doing his best to aim for the right targets, Lolonoa Zoro had to admit to himself that he was lost. He was pretty sure that he already had gone through the same corridor at least three times already. He began to realize that running around in the base only would make his wounds start bleeding again and he would end up getting himself caught again. He still hadn't met any Marine soldiers, and was feeling very uneasy because of that.

Turning right when the corridor split in two directions, he vaguely noticed that the doors on both sides of the corridor were looking more and more ornamented as he silently walked past them. There were voices coming from a few of the rooms, either from groups of people having some sort of meetings or single persons talking either to themselves or dictating a letter or speech. He quickly walked past those doors as he looked around. He was starting to get the feeling that this wasn't the right place to look for his friends.

Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps coming from around the corner ahead of him. He couldn't let himself act purely out of instincts and attack whoever was about to turn around the corner. There were too many people in the rooms around him. Instead, he grabbed the door handle of the nearest door and pushed the door open, hoping that the room behind it would be empty.

He shut the door behind him, leaning his back against it as he listened to the footsteps outside the door as they passed by. He could hear a muffled voice yell something about a riot in cellblock 1 and smiled to himself. He couldn't have thought of a better diversion than a nice little riot to occupy the Marines for a while. When he heard a lot of doors open and slam shut outside in the corridor and footsteps going down the corridor, he let out a sigh and was surprised to notice that he had been holding his breath.

Why was he feeling so nervous all of a sudden? Damn it, he hadn't even felt nervous when he got up against Mihawk or Mr.1, so **why** now?

Turning around to see what kind of room he had got himself trapped inside, he froze and let his eyes follow the row of items lined up against the back wall behind the small hazel desk.

There were at least twenty swords of different lengths and different styles on the scabbards standing there against the wall, each and every one of them clearly a masterpiece. A sudden realization dawned on him. If all the swords were there, then maybe…

He crossed the room and let his eyes sweep over the swords until his eyes landed on a familiar scabbard. Yukibashiri. The swordsman picked up the sword and ran his fingers over the hilt.

It was definitely his sword; no other sword could feel so light and so fierce in his hand.

He searched the line of swords with his eyes again, but he couldn't find his other swords. He could feel the presence of the cursed blade, but he couldn't see it anywhere in the collection of swords. Then his eyes fell on the light brown cabinet in the corner on his right. He opened it, only to reveal an additional forty swords hanging on the walls and in the insides of the doors of the cabinet. On the door to his right, the familiar form of the cursed sword caught his eyes. He took it down and felt the well-known bloodlust of the sword pulsate against his fingers. Two out of three. The most important sword wasn't there.

Behind him, the door opened and the swordsman felt his body get tense, but he didn't turn around until he heard the voice call his name.

"Lolonoa Zoro!"

He did his best not to cringe as he recognized the voice. That woman seemed to want to wear his name out as often as she had used it the few times they had run into each other.

"I should have known this was your room," he said as he turned around to face the black-haired woman standing by the closed door. "The swords were quite the clue."

"Put those swords back," the woman tried to command him, and her hands were drawn to the white katana hanging from her belt.

The swordsman shook his head. What was she thinking? That he'd just put them down and come quietly back to his cozy little cell?

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, they called for me and I came for them. The one you have there is calling for me this very moment."

He nodded towards the white katana, trying to keep his voice calm despite the annoyance and the anger he felt as he saw her with the Wadou Ichimonji.

The woman was staring at him while taking a fighter's stance. Zoro wondered if she was staring at him in general or at the blood covering his chest. As he had expected, the wounds on his chest had opened and was bleeding again.

"You won't have any of those swords unless you step over my dead body to take them!" she told him, keeping her hand on the hilt of the sword.

The swordsman clenched his teeth. Was it really possible to be that annoying? Why did she have to look just like Kuina? If she hadn't had her glasses on, he doubted that he'd even be able to listen to her.

"Look, I don't want to fight you right now, is it really that hard for you to understand?"

The moment he uttered those words, the woman drew the sword from the scabbard and untied the scabbard from her belt as if it would be in the way during the fight. She threw it onto the floor.

"What I don't understand is why a swordsman would decline a challenge from an opponent- man or woman!"

The swordsman cursed silently and did his best not to start that argument again. Why did she feel the need to bring that up over and over again? He made an attempt to move towards the door, but she blocked his way, raising the blade in front of her. The swordsman rolled his eyes and put his katana blades on the desk. That was it. Resemblance to Kuina or not, he couldn't let this go on any longer. He didn't have time to fool around.

"Fine. If a battle is what you want, a battle you'll get. I won't hold back. If you change your mind, you can do that in Hell."

He released the Marine swords he had taken earlier from his waistband and held them in front of him. The woman looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"You fight using the way of the Three Sword School, Lolonoa Zoro. How can you be giving everything you have with only two swords?"

"So now you know my abilities better than I do?" Zoro asked, his eyes narrowing under the black bandana. "Are you afraid to face me?"

He was filled with a strange, reluctant fighting spirit and took a step forward, shoving the desk to the side. There was no time to lose, the rest of the crew were somewhere in the maze of corridors and rooms, and he really didn't have the time for a long fight.

The woman also stepped forward, accepting his challenge. Zoro nodded once and attacked, his arms crossed in front of his chest. In a blur of swift and powerful strikes, his blades met the woman's sword, causing her to take a step backwards.

The swordsman saw her clench her teeth as she counterattacked with very accurate blows. He dodged to the side to avoid the sword as his opponent found an opening in his defense. The sword cut a small hole in the short sleeve of his shirt, but didn't even touch his skin. Using another Demon Cleave attack, he managed to break through her defense, his blades slashing her left upper arm.

The wounds on his upper body were throbbing and still bleeding; his blood was dripping to the floor where he moved. If he didn't finish the battle, he'd risk losing too much blood.

Before his opponent had the chance to raise her defenses, he moved with all the speed and strength he could muster and got her pinned against the wall, the soul-less sword against her throat. The white katana fell to the floor with a clatter.

Staring up at him, the woman's eyes were filled with defiance.

"Finish it then," she said, the words almost sounding like a challenge.

"I should," the swordsman agreed. He withdrew the hand holding the other sword without taking his eyes from hers. Then he thrust the swords forwards, the blade penetrating the wall just a hairs-breadth to the left from the female Marine's head, causing her to flinch out of surprise or maybe even disappointment.

The swordsman turned to pick up the white katana from the floor and reached for the scabbard that was lying on the floor between him and his opponent. As he did so, he felt her hand grabbing his wrist in a tight grip.

"Why do you spare me?" she demanded to know, but her voice was thinner than before and she didn't seem to have much control over her body at the moment. "Because I'm a woman or out of pity? Or is it because I look like someone you know?"

With a swift movement, he released his hand from her grip, reached for the scabbard and tied it securely to his waistband. He watched the woman as he moved towards the desk and took his other two swords.

"Would you have preferred for me to have aimed a little bit more to the right?" he asked acidly. "There are things you just don't do out of pity. One of those things is risking your own life, and another is killing someone. Are you actually trying to say that the only reason to why I won this battle is because I'm a man and you're not?"

The woman didn't answer. She just looked at him with the same defiant look in her eyes as before. The swordsman continued.

"I made a vow not to lose another battle, and I intend to keep that promise. If you want my swords, you'll have to practice harder and try to exceed me, because the only way you are laying your hands on them again is to take them from my cold, dead hands."

As he made for the door, he noticed the bandage around the woman's right wrist and smirked.

"A little accident with the cursed sword? He's really mischievous, isn't he?"

"You have no right to have those swords!" the woman called out to him. "Can't you hear their cries of sorrow because they have to be used by someone like you?"

Zoro's eyes darkened. He turned to face the woman next to him, his eyes only visible as glistening slits in the shadow under the bandana.

"These swords have chosen me. You saw it yourself in Logue Town. Besides…" he held up the soul-less sword towards her and dropped it to the floor. "Maybe you should pay attention to the cries of the swords that are around you than the ones you wish to collect."

With that, he turned to the door, still keeping an eye on the woman, who had sunk down on the floor and was holding the Marine's sword in her hands. He slowly opened the door and was pleased to see that the corridor outside the room was empty. He slunk out from the room just as the woman regained the control over her body again. She called his name again just as he closed the door and set off running through the corridor, feeling the throbbing in his chest fade as he now could focus on keeping the pain under control.

"Damn it!" he muttered. "I've lost quite a lot of blood now. Why did I have to fight her?"

He continued down the corridor, feeling more in balance with the three swords swinging at his side as he ran. Now if he could just keep himself from getting lost again – even though the last time had made him get his swords back – he should be able to locate the others if he didn't run into too many Marines on the way.

From its place at the swordsman's hip, the cursed Sandai Kitetsu let out a silent howl from the depths of its bloodlust that even the swordsman could sense as he ran.

Maybe running into one or two Marines wouldn't be such a bad thing after all…

-

_Oh boy, another action scene (or at least something similar to one). Damn Zoro, why can't he just stay still? Hmm… I guess he wouldn't be the Zoro we all know and love if he just stayed still…_

_AstroKender: Well, there is a simple answer to your question that has nothing to do with me being too lazy to write chapters with them all in different places oo;; Hrmm…No, it has to do with Zoro's reputation as a Pirate Hunter and the large bounty placed on his head. The Marines already knew about his monstrous strength and that he could be dangerous, so naturally, the safest thing to do would be to take all his weapons away from him, lock him away as far away from his crew as possible and hope that he won't figure out a way to escape on his own. I was actually going to put Sanji in a separate place as well, but the chapter with Usopp and Nami wasn't turning out very good without him there. I hope that answers your question. _

_**Note:** I said the answer would be simple, not short… ;_


	8. One of us

**Edit:** I've rewritten parts of this chapter as Mavado's review helped me see some mistakes I had made. Thank you once again, Mavado.

* * *

The little reindeer let out a sigh of relief as he sank down against the wall next to the plank bed where the Captain finally had stopped tossing and turning. Luffy's fever was still dangerously high, but now he was sleeping quietly. The doctor leaned his head in his hooves and let out a loud sob. He was tired and terrified and wanted nothing else than to wake up and find that it was all just a bad dream. That they hadn't been arrested by the Marines, but were safe in the royal palace in Alabasta with Vivi, waiting for the feast they had been promised after their victory.

He must have fallen asleep, because he woke up with a jerk and looked around, his back and neck aching from the awkward pose he had been sleeping in.

The Captain had got up from the plank bed and was standing by the bars of the cell. Eyes widening, the doctor got up and hurried over to the man, feeling a spark of hope ignited in his chest. He could hardly hold back a nervous giggle; the Captain looked a bit funny without his hat on his head. But thinking of the missing hat made the doctor keep the giggle back without any problems.

As he got up next to the Captain, he could see that the man's cheeks still were flushed with fever and his eyes were glassy under heavy eyelids. The doctor tugged at the Captain's arm, almost flinching as the man turned around with a strange look in his glassy eyes.

"You… You shouldn't be out of bed, Luffy," the doctor tried to persuade the Captain to go back to sleep, even though he had a feeling that he just as well could have asked the metal bars to dance a polka.

"They're not here, Chopper…" the Captain said, his voice monotonous and slow, as if he was talking in his sleep. "I must find them. We have to find them all."

"Luffy…"

The strange look in his eyes didn't change as he looked directly into the doctor's eyes, almost scaring the reindeer out of his wits by doing so.

"I want my nakama," he mumbled, leaning against the bars of Seastone with his head tilted back. His right hand was clutching his left wrist just below the black cross that was drawn on his skin. His grip wasso tight that his knuckles turned white.

The doctor tugged at his Captain's arm again.

"You still have a fever. You're not fighting until it goes away. As it is now, Sanji could fry eggs on your forehead."

The metaphor would have been funny if they hadn't been in the dank dungeon with the water dripping down the mossy stonewalls. Chopper gave up a muffled sob as he once again tugged at the Captain's arm, feeling the limb stretch and snap back in place as he did so. But the man didn't react; he just stared blankly into space with those half-shut, glassy eyes that didn't seem to belong to him at all.

"I want my nakama…" he repeated.

The reindeer growled. He knew that the Captain still was dazed by his fever, but he wasn't going to listen to the nonsense any longer. Growing to his human form, he grabbed the feverish man by the shoulders and turned him away from the energy-draining bars.

"**I** am your nakama, Luffy!" he said loudly, trying to find the real Luffy behind the mists in the dull eyes. "You chose me to join your family back on Drum Island . Or don't I count as family yet? After all, I'm just a talking reindeer with a blue nose. A real monster, right?"

He felt a sting of guilt as he saw the fog lift a little from the Captain's eyes and let go of the man's shoulders before he returned to his normal form again.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbled and climbed up on the chair that was standing right next to the table with all the ingredients. He could feel the Captain's eyes on him, but pointed in the direction of the plank bed. "Go back to bed. Your fever won't go down if you continue to walk bare-footed on the cold floor."

"I never get sick," Luffy said, and now his voice had lost some of the monotonous tone even though he still sounded weary. "I'm just hungry, that's why it hurts. My treasures are gone, I'm tired, and I want to get OUT OF HERE!"

He furiously slammed his fists into the bars of the cell, and was about to do the same with his feet when his eyes rolled back, showing nothing but the whites, and he sunk down to the floor and lay there without moving.

The doctor had jumped behind the table when the Captain lashed out at the bars and was shivering as he watched the man fall to the floor. At first, he was immobilized by his fear that the Captain would get up again and this time turn his anger and desperation towards the doctor himself.

But then his animal instincts made way for the spirit of the doctor in him, and he got out from his hiding place, hurrying to check on the fallen man. Luckily, the Captain's fever hadn't risen anymore, but it was still far too high. The doctor grew to human size, scooped up the unconscious Captain and carried him back to the plank bed. As he reached out to pull the blanket up to the man's chin, he felt guilty for yelling at the Captain.

He had seen both men and women act as if they were insane when under the influence of high fever or delusions. And even if Luffy normally acted more like a superhuman, it wasn't strange that he was confused. He had said that he never got sick, so his confusion and increased desperation could easily be caused by him not being used to have a high fever.

Turning back to his normal form, he walked back to his table and put some dried herbs in his mortar. Grinding them absentmindedly, he listened to the sound of the water dripping from the walls and the steady rhythm of the Captain breathing.

If he only could find a way to get the cage open; then he could try to find the others, even if he had to carry Luffy on his back all the way through the Marine base.

His eyes widened. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of that before?

Bouncing off the chair, he pushed it aside so that he could reach the blue backpack that was hidden under the table. Ripping the bag open, he searched through it, putting the different bottles and boxes with medicines on the floor. But his excitement faded as the bag gradually was emptied and the pile of jars and boxes by his feet grew larger. Finally, he turned the bag upside down and shook it in a desperate attempt to find what he was searching for.

Then a frightening image came to his mind. A Marine soldier looking through his bag, removing all scalpels, needles and medicine that looked suspicious, among them a small round pill…

Perfect.

The reindeer sighed and started to put the things back in the bag when he felt eyes in the back of his head. He turned around and found Luffy lying on his back on the plank bed, his eyes open and looking directly at the doctor. Flinching, the reindeer jumped to his feet and stared at the Captain.

"Luffy, I didn't notice that you woke up!"

"What are you doing?" the Captain asked, his voice sounding more like his normal voice again. Maybe he was feeling better; the fever could finally be fading away. The doctor couldn't hide the big smile on his face when he answered.

"N-nothing, I was just looking for my Rumble Ball. I think the Marines took it…"

"That thing that makes you change into those other forms?"

The doctor looked up at the Captain, slightly amazed. In a way, he hadn't thought that the man's short attention span allowed him to remember more than the names of his crewmembers or the things that was essential for his own survival, such as his inability to swim or the way his attacks were performed. But he started to understand that there had to be more to the man than that. He returned from his thoughts when Luffy continued:

"Does it look something like this? I found it on the floor a while ago and thought it was candy, but I saved it for later because I wasn't feeling hungry…"

The man pulled out a small round object from his pocket and held it out towards the doctor, who immediately recognized it. His face cracked up in another huge smile.

"My Rumble Ball!" he cried out and ran up to the plank bed, taking the ball from the Captain's hand. He wasn't even discouraged by its sticky surface that had attracted more than one ball of lint and strands of black hair; he was so happy that the Marines hadn't taken it.

"Now let's see if I can get us out of here…" he muttered as he picked the largest balls of lint off the sticky ball.

Plopping the sphere into his mouth, he crunched it up and felt the effects tack place almost immediately. Just as he was about to change form, he heard Luffy's voice behind him.

"Reindeer…"

Blinking, the doctor looked at the Captain, feeling the countdown slowly decrease his three minutes towards zero. The Captain was looking and sounding tired again, but the smile on his face was as bright as it was genuine.

"You've always been one of us. Even before we met, you were one of us. We just didn't know about it yet, you and me."

A sudden realization came to the doctor. He ignored the mental countdown for a moment, knowing what consequences it could bring.

"You knew it from the beginning, didn't you?" he whispered. "Even when you and Sanji wanted to cook and eat me, you knew that I would follow you in the end. And maybe not just me. You knew that the others would follow you as well… didn't you?"

The only sound that came from the Captain was a light snore. The doctor smiled and turned away from the sleeping man. He knew that he wouldn't ask those questions again, because the moment he had asked them, he had been sure that he already knew the answer to them.

Two minutes left.

"Brain Point," the reindeer whispered. He didn't change his appearance, but he could feel his mind focus harder than ever. Putting his arms out in front of him, the points of his hooves against each other, creating a diamond-shaped space between them, he turned to one of the corners of the cell.

"Scope."

He could almost feel his brain work as he analyzed the bars of metal that kept them prisoners inside the cell. There had to be a weak point somewhere, not even Seastone could be indestructible. A loose bolt or a weak weld was all he needed. But the cell was annoyingly well-built, he had to admit that. Focusing harder, he turned around slowly, his brain working like never before while the clock slowly counted down. This was taking far too long; if he didn't find the weak point soon, he wouldn't have enough time to use it to his advantage.

Then, he saw it. The way the door was placed and the way it titled ever so little to the side.

"Weak hinges! Arm Point!"

His arms grew in length and almost all his strength was concentrated in his large arm muscles as he raced up to the door and slammed his large hooves into the right side of the door, causing the metal to vibrate violently. Pulling back, he repeated the attack, feeling the metal drain his energy for every punch. The feeling of being under water rushed over him as he kept attacking the side of the door and he fought the panic that boiled inside him and refused to give up. The effects of the Rumble Ball would wear off in fifty-five seconds and when it did, the chances of getting out would be reduced to practically nothing.

Over and over again, he slammed his hooves into the metal, hearing that metallic clatter and the creaking from the hinges that didn't seem to be as affected by his fierce attacks as he had hoped they would be. Just as he was about to give up and let the time run out, he felt someone coming up next to him, and when he looked up, he saw the Captain standing there, a determined look on his face and his whole body flushed with fever.

Twenty seconds.

The Captain stretched out his arms behind him, let them snap back and hit the metal bars with horrendous force. As he prepared another attack, Chopper could see the light frown on the Captain's face; showing that he also felt the effects of the Seastone. This only made the doctor focus even harder. The Seastone was not going to break them.

Ten seconds.

_Come on now, break…_ Chopper thought as he felt time running out. _Break before it's too late._

He could feel his muscles starting to go numb from hitting the bars and gathered all the strength he had left. The faint smell of blood almost caught his attention, but the doctor took a deep breath and aimed to slam both his hooves against the bars at the same time, screaming out his frustration as he did so.

Five seconds.

The doctor could vaguely hear the Captain cry out when he also made one final attempt, and he didn't see the Captain's hands hit the metal at the same time his own hooves hit it, but he could clearly hear the creak from the bolts as the hinges gave up and broke.

The pirates were thrown forwards as the door flew open and they landed on the floor in the hall outside the cell while the door slammed into the side of the cell, wobbled for a second or two before it fell over and landed on the stone floor with a loud slam, only a few millimeters from the reindeer's side.

As the time of the Rumble Ball ran out, Chopper felt his body returning to his normal form. His body ached and his head felt awkwardly enlarged. He wasn't completely sure that they actually had managed to open the door, but when he opened his eyes and looked up, he could see the door lying on the floor right next to him.

"We did it…" he whispered. "Luffy…"

He looked around and found his Captain lying on the floor to his left. The man was breathing fast, holding one of his hands pressed lightlyagainst his stomach, a small trickle of blood running between his fingers. But he was smiling and reached out his other hand towards the reindeer.

Chopper looked at him and clapped his hoof against the palm of the Captain's outstretched hand even though the sight of the blood made him worried. He was starting to regain his strength, but they didn't have much time. The Marines couldn't possibly have missed the deafening noise the door had made as it fell.

Scrambling to his feet, the little reindeer gathered the most valuable medicines in the backpack. Growing to his large human form, he kneeled by his Captain, silently offering to carry the man on his back. The Captain nodded once, reaching out his hand towards the doctor.

"We're getting out of here now. To find our family." Chopper said quietly and took Luffy's hand. 

Leaving the cell and risk to run into countless Marines before Luffy recovered was enough to leave the reindeer shaking with terror. But he hauled the man up on his back, telling him to hold on and felt secure in a strange way when he felt the man's arms lock tightly around his neck.

With the Captain on his back, Chopper left the cell and headed for the stone stairs that led to the next floor.

* * *

_Reeeh, this chapter turned out longer than I intended… It just kept on going and going and going until I never thought it would end… I think the next chapter will be short, but it will have Zoro in it… _

_FieryKitsune – I try to keep on writing this story while I'm still inspired. I've never written a story this long before, and I actually think that I wouldn't be able to write pairings, except maybe friendship. Hmm, yes… I've seen that Zoro's name spelled with R's instead of L's. It's tricky with the l and r… _

_Jaelle – I've also got the feeling that Sandai was made for Zoro. I was so impressed by the scene where he tests his compatibility with the cursed sword. You have a point when saying that Tashigi might let her personal opinion cloud the voices of the swords. I do believe that it can be true. _


	9. Searching

A final crosscut and the last soldier fell to the floor with a low guttural noise. Sliding the blades back into their sheathes, the swordsman stepped over the fallen soldiers and continued along the corridor. His vision wavered in and out of focus as he made his way through the dimly lit passage while listening for other marine soldiers. They had noticed his escape by now; the soldiers he just had defeated had said, "There he is!" when they had spotted him.

However, it seemed as if something else troubled the marines. Even though he didn't know exactly what it was, he was sure that he could guess who could be causing it. The small group of soldiers they had sent after him had almost insulted him. Six soldiers armed with nothing but swords and their wits.

Still, they had been of some assistance to him. Now he knew where to look for his crewmates. What had that Marine told him again? Down the hall, right turn when the corridor splits up in two directions and then up the stairs at the far end… Probably a trap, but following any directions was definitely better than wandering aimlessly around the base. If he could only keep the wounds from opening again, he'd be able to preserve enough of his energy to protect the others if he had to. This time, he wouldn't fail them.

Tightening the black cloth tied around his head, he felt the world slipping back in focus and decided to speed up the pace a little bit. Down the corridor, right where the passage split in different directions… Why was it so quiet? There had to be Marine soldiers all over the base looking for him, so why was the corridor so empty?

He reached the end of the corridor, leaning against the wall with one hand supporting his bodyweight as multicoloured spots danced in front of his eyes. Growling, he shook his head and started climbing the stairs. Losing some blood was no reason to stop. He had been worse off than this before. At least he didn't have a fever this time.

Halfway up the stairs, he stopped and listened. There were voices and footsteps coming from the corridor at the top of the stairs. Unsheathing Wadou, he started moving up the stairs, silently as a predator. Moving along the wall to the top of the stairs, he could hear the voices and footsteps grow stronger as their owners got closer to the stairs. There weren't many of them, not more than three, judging by the sound of the voices.

Taking a deep breath to clear his head, he took a firmer grip around the hilt of the sword and leaned his back against the stonewall behind him. The owners of the voices were close, and in some part of his mind, he knew that he recognized them, but the signal didn't reach the conscious part of his mind immediately.

He stepped out from the staircase, his sword lifted, only vaguely aware of the figures in front of him as he let his sword cut through the air. He could hear someone scream and felt the impact as the blade hit something that was harder than the material he had intended to cut through. Then he heard two familiar voices burst out in unison:

"Zoro?"

And then another voice, all too familiar and annoying:

"What the hell are you doing, you moron?"

* * *

_Short chapter this time, as I feared it would be. _

_Mavado – Thank you so much for your review, you're absolutely right. Ruffy (it's funny how great it feels to call him Ruffy instead of Luffy) did lose his hat, I had completely forgot about that. You're also right about the hinges, as they should be on the outside since the door to the cell opens outwards (opening it inwards would mean a great risk to the guards who have to reach into the cell to close the door) and that would make it far more effective to punch them open than to pull. I think I'm going to rewrite Chapter 8, because now that I've realized my mistakes, I won't be able to read it without getting annoyed. Ha, ha._

_I haven't planned the end of the story in detail yet, but I'm not sure if I can return them to Alabasta or not. I think I need to work out what could have happened to the Going Merry and how they are going to get away from the base first._


	10. Regrouping

If only his legs would stop shaking. Usopp was walking behind his friends, keeping an eye out for more Marines who could be sneaking up on them from behind. They had already run into a large patrol just as they had left their cellblock, but after a minor fight where Sanji had been responsible for most of the fighting, they had taken off through the corridor as fast as they could.

Now they were in a corridor without windows or doors. It seemed to go on forever, and now the marksman could hear strange noises coming from the far end of the passage. It had to be the deadly and fearsome Skull Dragon, resting far in the cave on a mound of human bones. Only he, the brave captain Usopp and of course his loyal crew could defeat the dragon and save the land…

He received an elbow to his already sore ribs and snapped out of his daydream. Nami's eyes met his with a very irritated expression.

"Stop mumbling, they'll hear you!" she snapped, her hands leaning on her hips.

Usopp sent her a cold glare, even if he knew that she was right. He hadn't even noticed that he had been narrating his own daydream again.

"You're not being awfully quiet yourself, you know."

The marksman suddenly saw stars dancing in front of his eyes as Sanji'shard shoe-clad footwas slammed down hard on top of his head. He hissed between his teeth and covered his head with his hands to protect himself from gettingkicked again.

"Don't speak to Nami-san that way!" the cook ordered, turning to Nami for attention.

Rubbing his head, the marksman glared at the cook, who only smiled goofily towards Nami. Usopp shook his head slowly and continued to keep an eye out behind them when he tried to keep himself from retreating into his world of fantasies again. Suddenly, he bumped into someone and almost ended up falling backwards on the floor while holding back a howl of surprise.

"Look, there are some stairs there," Nami said, looking more excited than she sounded. "Maybe we'll have better luck if we follow those stairs?"

Sanji was overjoyed. He strutted by Nami's side, still smiling goofily and praising every move the navigator made.

"Nami-san is so attentive. Intelligence and beauty, Nami-san has it all!"

The marksman rolled his eyes. He caught himself wishing that someone – other than himself, of course – could make the cook shut up for once.

The chef couldn't help himself but praise the navigator, even for the small thing as noticing the stairs – which wasn't actually a thing to praise if Nami hadn't been the one to mention it; the large hole in the wall where the stairs went down to the next floor wasn't hard to see even in the dim light in the corridor. He needed to do that, not only to try to raise her spirit but to keep his own attention away from his aching feet. His ribs were quite sore as well, but as long as he didn't move around too much, he wouldn't risk the broken ribs to puncture one of his lungs or any other organs for that matter. Broken ribs were something he was used to, and the pain was easy to ignore when he had something – or someone – else to think about.

They were near the stairs when something flew out from behind the corner. The gleam of metal caught the cook's eye and he swung his leg in a wide half circle to block the blow from the blade. As the heel of his shoe made contact with the sword, he could hear the sniper's surprised scream and the navigator's gasp before both crewmembers burst out in unison:

"Zoro?"

The cook looked at the swordsman, feeling the blade press against the hard heel of his shoe.

"What the hell are you doing, you moron?" he asked, not letting his leg relax even though his foot was protesting against the weight of the sword. "Are you trying to kill us or something?"

"If I had been trying to kill you, you wouldn't have been able to block my attack that easily," the swordsman growled while sliding the sword back into its scabbard, allowing the chef to put his foot back on the ground.

"Right…" the chef put his hands in his pockets and looked at the swordsman. The man's posture was different from his usual straight and relaxed pose; his back was tense and his head was hanging against his chest, even though he clearly was trying to keep his chin up. Sanji also noticed, very vaguely, that the bloodstain covering the white shirt was larger than he remembered it from when he had seen the swordsman two days earlier.

"You look like hell, Zoro" he stated casually.

The swordsman's eyes wandered from Sanji to Usopp to Nami.

"Yeah well, you don't look all too lively yourself," he commented with an amused undertone in his voice before adding: "I was looking for you."

Sanji wondered silently to himself if Zoro had found them all on his own or if it had been by pure luck as usual. The man normally couldn't find his way out of a shoebox on his own. The chef shook his head and walked past the swordsman towards the stairs. Turning around by the top of the stairs, he looked at his crewmates.

"Well, you found us. Now let's find **him** and get the hell out of here."

He could hear the others follow him as the started to go down the stairs, ignoring the pain that shot up through his legs for every step he took.

Zoro walked behind the others as they descended to the floor below. Sanji walked first, followed by Nami and Usopp, since they both were more or less defenceless. Then he remembered.

"Oi, Usopp…" he said, reaching behind his back. "I found something earlier and I think it belongs to you."

The marksman stopped walking and turned around to face Zoro. Handing over the slingshot to the black-haired man, Zoro thought – and feared – for a second that the marksman was going to throw himself around his (Zoro's) neck, so he moved a little bit to the side. But the marksman didn't throw himself at Zoro; he just took the slingshot, looked closely at it as if to check for damage and smiled widely when he didn't find anything on it.

"Thanks, Zoro," he said, tucking the slingshot in one of the pockets of his brown pants. "Not everyone knows to return someone else's possessions unharmed… Right, Sanji?" He took off his headset with the goggles and swept his hair back before he tied the brown, bloodstained bandana around his head. Then he put the goggles back in their place above his forehead and looked very contented.

The cook sent Usopp a cold glare over his shoulder as they continued down the last steps of the stairs and out in the corridor. After walking through the passage, they reached the fork in the road. Zoro nodded for the others to continue straight forward.

"I came from that other direction," he said shortly, remembering vaguely that he had turned right before going up the stairs which would make it somewhat logical to go in the other direction to find the rest of the crew. "Nothing but rooms filled with Marines over there."

"Did you expect something else?" the cook said with a tired, yet annoyingly teasing voice. "We're in a damn _Marine Base_, shithead."

"Shut up." Zoro muttered, not interested in an argument that would only drain his energy further. "If you don't want to take this way, you don't have to. But I'm going this way whether you are coming with me or not."

The effort it had taken to keep his voice steady and sounding normal made the world spin in front of the swordsman's eyes, but he tried his best to stay steady and upright as he walked past his crewmates and continued into the corridor in front of them. There was a change in the way his balance was altered, though; he could clearly notice that it took less time to recover than it had before. It was a good thing, but he also started to notice what damage the lack of sleep had caused. Not a good thing.

_When we get out of here, I'm going to sleep for a month…_ Zoro thought to himself, feeling a headache creeping up on him.

Nami looked from Zoro to Usopp and Sanji. While she was starting to get annoyed by their never-ending arguments about the smallest of things, it was a relief to see them all act like they used to. But there was something in Zoro's voice that hadn't been completely normal for the swordsman. As she looked at Sanji, she thought for a second that she could see something in his eye (the one that wasn't hidden behind the wall of blonde hair) that told her that he also had noticed it, even if it only was subconsciously.

"We're going with him," she stated, nodding in the direction of the green-haired man who was slowly disappearing in the shadows of the windowless corridor. "He says that he's already been over there, so going there would be a waste of time. And we might not have much time to spare, don't you agree, Sanji-kun?"

The cook looked like he was about to disagree, but then he sighed and nodded as he put his hands in his pockets again. The navigator smiled at him and turned to follow the swordsman. She could hear the cook and sniper follow her, one of them a little less eagerly than the other.

"Zoro! Wait up!" she called out, not very loud, but loud enough for the swordsman to hear it.

They caught up with him further down the corridor. Sanji tried a few times to start another fight with the swordsman, but when Zoro only replied with mutters and grunts, the cook gave up and started asking Usopp how many days, hours and minutes were left until he was free to cook whatever he pleased again. It was definitely not one of the cook's better moods. Compared to this, Nami almost wished that he would start his normal, annoying wooing, since that was easier to ignore.

Suddenly, the corridor came to an end, where the only ways to continue were two sets of stairs; one to the right leading up and another one to the leftthat led down.

"Now what?" the marksman asked, looking from the left set of stairs to the right.

"Where would you keep someone who had eaten a Devil's Fruit?" Nami asked no one in particular. "Except for cages of Seastone, since I don't think any Marine would risk putting someone with, for example, the ability to turn into smoke or fire in a normal cell."

"In a dungeon below water level?" Sanji suggested. "Oi, Zoro! Where are you going?"

Nami turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of the white and green disappear down the stairs on the left. She hurried after him, hearing the footsteps of the other two behind her.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" she asked as she caught up with the swordsman again. "What if we just end up getting caught like rats down there?"

The swordsman stopped and looked over his shoulder at Nami, his eyes glistening in the dim light.

"I'm just following my gut. Besides, you came from the upper floor, didn't you? If my ears didn't fail me, I thought you had searched the upper floor already."

"We've got company!"

Nami's reply died on her lips as the cook's voice was heard, followed by the sound of his footsteps as he ran up the stairs and then the cries of unknown voices. Looking up at the marksman who was standing in the middle of the stairs, his legs shaking, Nami called out to him.

"Usopp! Stay with Sanji-kun. I'll go with Zoro, you two can catch up with us later, okay?"

"Oh-Okay!" the marksman's trembling voice called back. "Later, then!"

Before Nami followed Zoro down the stairs, she could hear Usopp call out a new version of one of his special attacks, followed by Sanji's annoyed voice.

"Make yourself useful for once in your life, Usopp!"

The navigator smiled to herself and turned around the corner at the foot of the stairs, heading into the maze of the upper dungeons.

In the heat of the battle, Usopp noticed something that made him feel cold all over and also made him lose his focus on the battle for a moment. Three of the ten Marines were women. Sanji didn't seem to have noticed them yet, but that was only because of two of the other Marines who had thrown themselves around his feet and was trying to hold him down. The cook, who was looking rather irritated, were trying to get free while keeping three other Marines at bay without risking to damage his hands. He was spinning around in one place as fast as he could with the Marines still attached to his lower legs, sending kicks into thin air or into the walls while muttering curses aimed at everyone around him.

A snapping sound was heard just above the marksman's left ear and when he turned to the side, he was staring straight into the barrel of a pistol aimed directly at his head. Usopp's heart raced and he felt his stomach freeze to a solid ice cube as he locked eyes with the female marine who held the pistol in her hand. He could feel the other Marines who weren't busy trying to avoid Sanji's kicks grab hold of his arms.

"Pirate scum…" the woman holding the gun muttered; her ice blue eyes sharp as a hawk's.

Usopp's eyes darkened as he glared at the Marines holding him. His brain worked frantically to find a way to escape from this highly troublesome situation. Images of familiar faces flashed before his eyes. Kaya… Carrot, Pepper and Onion… His mother, laying on her deathbed… Nami… Sanji… Zoro… Chopper and Luffy… Vivi…

He couldn't die, not by a bullet through his brain shot by a Marine while he was held down by two or three other Marines! He would be the brave warrior of the four seas, and no one was going to keep him from reaching that goal.

Then things started to happen really fast.

He could see a shadow in the corner of his eye and felt a light jerk in his right arm as one of the Marines were thrown back by some unidentified force. Then a deafening explosion echoed between the walls and Usopp's left shoulder was on fire. Temporarily blinded by the white-hot pain that pulsated through his arm and out in the side of his chest, the marksman flailed his unharmed arm and his legs wildly while his own war cry echoed in his ears, feeling a bitter satisfaction each time his punches and kicks hit something soft and he heard the unfamiliar voices cry out in pain.

_Hah!_ He thought, forcing a grin over the excruciating pain in his left upper arm. _This is what you get for messing with captain Usopp!_

After another few seconds, he felt a hand grab hold of his right ankle and stopped flailing, finding himself in an awkward position with his right leg high in the air, and the rest of his body bent to the left towards the floor. When he looked up at the person holding his foot - the only person in the room who still possessed the ability to stand up - he gulped nervously. Sanji didn't look very happy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the cook growled, letting go of the marksman's leg. Usopp fell to the ground, crying out in pain as he landed on the stone floor, his left arm crushed under his own bodyweight. He looked around, one eye still firmly shut and his teeth clenched as he tried to push the pain away. Around him, the Marines were laying on the floor, seemingly unconscious, even the female soldiers. The marksman looked back at the blonde man, realizing the reason to the cook's bad mood.

"Sa-Sanji…" he started, but his voice trailed off as the cook grabbed the shoulder straps of his pants and lifted him from the floor.

"I hope you realize what you've done, you shitty sniper." he hissed, staring furiously at Usopp. "Not only did you hit a woman, you hit _three_ women!"

The marksman stepped back, grabbing Sanji's thin wrist with his sound hand and pulled away from the cook's grip. He glared at the blonde man, ignoring the numb feeling in the pit of his stomach, his shaking legs and the pain in his arm as he tried to look rebellious and unafraid. He didn't quite succeed; the dark glare the cook sent back at him was enough to make him shiver with fear. Still, he managed to keep his voice steady.

"I know what I did, and right now, I don't care if you beat me to a bloody pulp the first thing you do when we get back to the Going Merry, but we have more important things to take care of first!"

He knew that he would regret saying that he didn't care about getting beaten up later, but he comforted himself by thinking that Chopper would be on the boat as well, ready to treat any damage Sanji could cause him for defending himself against Marines who happened to be female. He turned around and started walking down the stairs to the left, his right hand clenched around his left upper arm. He pulled the bandana off his head and tried to tie it around the wound while large colourful spots flickered before his eyes.

"You're going to bleed to death before you get that right…" Sanji's voice came from behind him. "Give me your arm."

Looking to his left, the marksman was surprised to see Sanji walking next to him. He hadn't heard the man's footsteps close up on him. Holding out his arm with some hesitation, Usopp tried not to shudder or scream when the injury sent new flashes of pain through his body. During the short moment before Sanji tied the brown cloth tightly around his arm – maybe even a little too tight, but Usopp didn't think that mentioning it would be a good idea – his eyes confirmed what he had already assumed in his mind. There was an entrance wound where the bullet had entered his arm, but there was to exit wound on the other side.

The last time he had been shot, back in Syrup village, the bullet had gone straight through his arm, leaving nothing but two pale circular scars on both sides of his left arm. He usually kept his striped wristband over the scars, but now one of the scars was covered by the black X that was drawn onto his skin.

"Thanks…" Usopp said, not referring only to the provisional bandage around his arm. "For sending that Marine flying at the one who was holding me down."

The cook shrugged as he passed Usopp on their way down. He turned to look over his shoulder at the marksman, his facial expression strangely calm and relaxed.

"Don't mention it. You looked like you could use some assistance and he was seriously getting on my last nerve. But don't think that I've forgotten what you did. You'll get yours when we get back to the Going Merry."

Usopp didn't reply, he just looked at the cook for a moment, nodded and continued down the stairs, his right hand clasped around the wounded area of his arm.

* * *

_Okay, this chapter turned out a little longer than I expected. I was almost about to call this chapter "The chapter that refused to end"… But I guess it kind of makes up for chapter nine's shortness… _

_It's not the best thing I've ever written, and I think I brought them all OOC somewhere in the chapter. I've tried my best to add details and some personality to the story, but I'd appreciate it if you could point out things that I need to think about when I continue writing this story._


	11. Finding

"Zoro, wait! Not so fast!"

The swordsman rolled his eyes and could just barely hold back a groan as he yet again slowed down his pace just enough for the navigator to catch up with him. When she came up next to him, he looked at her, catching the limp she was trying to hide. Nodding in her direction, he tried his best to keep his voice from sounding irritated.

"You okay?" he asked. He had carried the orange-haired girl on his back through the city of Albana only to see her storm up to Usopp when she spotted him, smacking him over the head while yelling something about the weapons he had made for her – and she had done that without so much as a limp on her wounded leg.

The navigator's hazel eyes met his and she shrugged.

"I'm fine," was the only reply he received.

Zoro's headache wasn't as bad as it had been before they had gone down into the cellar; the soft light from the torch they had taken from the wall by the stairs was the perfect light - bright enough to illuminate the corridor in front of them but not bright enough to blind them. The crackling sound from the fire slowly consuming the oil-drenched wood was soothing, and it was the only sound that didn't make any echo between the stone walls as they walked onwards.

His body was already recovering from the battle with Mr.1, but it was also craving sleep. Now, when he was no longer locked inside an oversized hamster cage, staying awake for almost two days didn't really seem like such a smart idea anymore. But what had been done couldn't be changed, he just had to adjust and do what he could to preserve what was left of his energies. But if they met a patrol down here, he'd be the one to fight, and that would be a great way of draining energy out of his body, especially if he received more injuries. Nami wouldn't be of much help if she didn't have a weapon, and Zoro doubted that the Marines would have left her weapons with her. Wait a minute. What was that?

In the corner of his eye, he saw something lying in a pile of mossy rocks. Crouching down as low as the wounds on his chest allowed, he reached out his hand and picked it up. He looked at the smooth, but slightly rustedmetal bar in his hand. It looked like the bo staff Nami had used before Usopp had made those new weapons for her, only maybe a little bit shorter and heavier.

"What's that?" the navigator asked, looking over Zoro's shoulder.

"Here," Zoro said, tossing the metal bar to her as he stood up.

Nami reached out her hands as the long thin item came flying towards her, almost dropping it to the floor when she felt the cold and heavy metal in her hands. Frowning in the fading light, she looked after Zoro, who had continued down the dark corridor with the torch in his hand.

"What am I supposed to do with this thing?" she called out after him, holding up the metal bar in the air.

"Use it as a weapon. I've seen you use that staff of yours," Zoro replied without turning around, his voice echoing between the moist stone walls. "If you can walk, that means that you can fight," he stated as Nami hurried after him, her left foot aching every time she had to put her weight on her wounded leg.

"What kind of reasoning is that?" she asked, giving the swordsman a smack over his green-haired head as she caught up with him. "I can hardly walk as it is."

The swordsman gave her a measuring glance and shook his head, deciding not to comment any further. Nami wasn't the type of person who argued just for the hell of it. There was a moment of silence where the only sound that was heard was the echo of their footsteps against the mossy stone floor. Then Nami spoke up.

"How long have we been down here?"

"Not long enough," Zoro replied, shrugging tensely. Nami didn't know if it was the cold, tired tone in his voice that made her stop talking, or if it was the way he clenched his fist around the burning piece of wood so that his knuckles whitened and the veins bulged out against his rough skin. She couldn't see much of his face from where she walked next to him with her hands and arms pressed against her body, her fingers gripping tightly around the metal bar, but there was an uneasy air about him that she definitely wouldn't have associated with the green-head if she hadn't felt it just that moment.

Zoro felt restless as the corridor turned to the right and then seemed to continue forever into the darkness caused by the lack of windows. It felt like the shadows just outside the reach of the light from the torch in his hand were hiding something, taunting him in his search, maybe even telling him that his search was for naught because the ones they were searching for were already gone…

No! He shook his head to rid it of the cackling voices caused by his own restless mind, feeling the throbbing in his temples growing thicker. What was he thinking? Somewhere down in the black cellar, the Marines had Luffy and Chopper trapped inside one of those damn cages, and he would find them. Hopefully, they hadn't been separated. Not with the bad state Luffy had been in.

Zoro could very well remember a few moments from when they had been brought to the base. He could remember stumbling because the chains binding his ankles together had been to short, and he could remember looking around, a strange feeling creeping up on him as he saw the rest of his clan in the hands of the Marines. The image of the crewmembers in chains, all of them almost drenched in (their own?) blood and their eyes hazed with exhaustion was etched forever into his memory. It was almost like it hadn't been his friends walking there, but some badly made duplicates or really bad actors.

Nami with the open, bleeding wounds in her right shoulder and her left leg, her orange hair hanging lifelessly into her eyes as her head dropped forwards in a gesture of fatigue and maybe even a broken spirit.

Usopp had been walkingwith his arms hanging down in front of him, his tanned skin stained with a reddish-brown color and covered in cuts and bruises. His long nose was broken and bent in three places, while the light swelling in his forehead indicated a skull fracture. He had appeared to have lost all his own free will, letting the Marines mock him as he stumbled without protesting.

Chopper had been the one who had had the least amount of damage done to him. His brown fur had been singed badly in places and he had some cuts and bruises that showed between the patches of unharmed fur. His antlers – especially the one with the metal ring around the base – had received some damage and were chipped in places without bleeding. He seemed to be fine, if it hadn't been for the troubled look on his face as he walked into the Marine base surrounded by Marines carrying some kind of long swords or lances made from that special kind of metal that was so effective on people with powers of the Devil's fruits. The little reindeer had fought the tears all the way through the base, at least while Zoro had been able to see him before they had been separated.

And Luffy… Seeing the Captain's face - which was usually brimming with a sometimes annoying childish curiosity and a wide, genuine smile aimed at everyone around him,but at that moment, his face wastwisted in a pained grimace as his body fought to drive whatever it was that the bloody Crocodile had poisoned him with out of his system - had in a way been more painful than being defeated by Mihawk could ever have been. The unconscious Captain had been carried by two Marines, while four others, armed again with those special weapons, walked on both sides of him, apparently well aware of what had happened in Alabasta.

Then there had been Sanji, who seemed determined not to go down without a fight. He broke free from the two Marines who were holding his by the arms, seemed to realize that the chain binding his ankles together was too short for him to throw effective kicks and dropped to the floor, his hands supporting his weight as he swung his legs in a perfect circle over the floor, throwing the two marines to the floor as his legs collided with their ankles. Then he pushed himself to his feet, only to receive a blow to the back of his head with the butt of a rifle delivered by one of the marines who had been standing by the walls, watching the pirates get escorted to their cells. And if that hadn't been enough, the bastard of a Marine rammed his knee into the cook's ribs as he slumped forward, a bit dazed from the hard blow to the head. Zoro had caught the expression in the cook's visible eye as his head was thrown back by the collision between his ribs and the marine's knee, and the want – no, the fanatic desire – to get rid of the chains and show the uniformed piece of crap some real ass-kicking had made Zoro's skin crawl. It was the same fanatic desire he felt bubbling inside him.

With the image of his friends in chains before his eyes, finding enough strength to break the chains that bound his wrists had been easy. At that time, the plan had been something like, 'Beat up the Marines, save your friends, and don't get killed.' The plan definitely hadn't involved getting the hilt of a large Seastone sword slammed into the back of his head. Zoro would never be able to forgive himself for letting his guard down like that. Sensing the Marine coming up from behind should have been easy even in the midst of a battle.

There was a noise echoing through the corridor that made Zoro stop walking. It was the sounds of a fight; war cries, a gun being fired and the muffled sound of punches. The swordsman dropped the torch on the floor and heard it hiss and crackle where it lay on the moist floor.

"What are you doing?" Nami hissed at him as he put his foot down over the flame, crushing even the last embers into the floor. The light disappeared and the darkness threw itself over them, wrapping them both in soft velvet that dulled their senses for a moment.

"I can't see a thing!" Nami continued, her voice echoing between the walls.

"If there are Marines down here, they can't see us either," Zoro replied, allowing his senses to get used to the darkness. Deprived of his sense of vision, his other senses would grow more accurate. "Let's get going." He started walking; now feeling a bit thankful for the echo of his footsteps in the corridor. It worked like sonar (even if Zoro didn't know what it was called, he was pleased to find that it worked) and allowed him to hear where the walls were located. He could also hear that Nami wasn't following him, and he stopped in his tracks, waiting for her.

"Get going? Going where?" Nami asked. "I couldn't see my own hand if I held it in front of my face, how am I going to know where to go? Where are you?"

Zoro turned around in the direction he heard Nami's voice, his hand moving towards the swords on his right hip. Gently tapping a finger against the wooden scabbard of one of the swords, he hoped that her hearing was good enough to judge from where the sound was coming.

"Over here." he said quietly, to avoid his voice causing too much of an echo. He could hear the navigator's insecure footsteps through the darkness and could barely resist telling her to hurry up.

Nami clenched her teeth as she followed the gentle tapping sound. Of all the stupid things… Walking around in complete darkness in an unfamiliar place and the only one who had a chance to navigate through the corridor was the guy who had climbed the clock tower in Albana when he was told to go north.

Barely holding back a scream of pain as her left foot hit something solid and rough that was lying on the floor, the navigator stumbled forward and crashed into something that she first thought was a warm, breathing wall. When she had the chance to steady herself, her thoughts gathered themselves and she realized that she had crashed into Zoro as she fell. She was just about to ask if they were going to start walking or just stand there and wait to get caught when she could hear the racket at the far end of the corridor rise to a new level. More guns were fired and now she could clearly hear voices which could only mean that they were close.

"Let's go." Zoro said shortly.

Nami reached out her hand and managed to grab hold of Zoro's arm before he started walking again, this time with a quick stride that was hard to keep up with. Wondering what could be the cause of the noise, Nami tried her best to avoid tripping over any more rocks as she almost ran to keep up with the swordsman.

Suddenly, a new sound was added to the echoing noise. A scream that was all too familiar even though it was heavily distorted when it echoed between the walls.

"_Gomu Gomu Pistol!"_

"Luffy!" Nami gasped, feeling her grip around the swordsman's arm slip as they both set off running even if every muscle in her legs protested against it.

A little further back in the dark, slippery corridor, in the light of a burning half rotted torch, the two other crewmembers were running to catch up with Nami and Zoro. As the familiar scream reached them, they both stopped and listened without breathing. Even if the echo had distorted the voice to the extent that the words had been lost in the ringing sound of the scream, both the cook and the marksman recognized it.

Sanji frowned as he felt a hand grab his upper arm and glanced over his shoulder at the seemingly paralyzed sniper, who was standing behind him to the right. He nodded towards the compact darkness ahead of them without moving away from the long-nosed man's grasp.

"I guess we have to go this way," he muttered, holding out the torch in front of him. "We better hurry."

He was pleased to notice that the sniper didn't object, but followed him silently as they started running again. The flame of the torch flickered in his hand, and ash was flying into his hair and his eyes, but he hardly noticed it. His head was pounding as he ran, something that only made his annoyance over random things grow stronger. _A cigarette, a cigarette, my kingdom for a cigarette_, he thought bitterly, his lips curled in something that could have passed as a smile if they had been outside in the fresh air and the sunlight.

Somewhere in front of them he could hear running steps, but he couldn't see anyone in the darkness. When they passed the extinguished torch Zoro had left behind, neither Sanji nor Usopp paid any attention to it.

* * *

_Eeh… another chapter that just wanted to keep going and going… I had to cut it here because it just wouldn't stop… Next chapter will probably take a long time to write since it's going to be Luffy's POV… He's so difficult to write. Oh well. I think we're getting closer to the end now…I will be sad when it is finished._

_Oh, I finallygot volume 24 of the One Piece manga yesterday and I realized a really big mistake I've made. Zoro didn't have the 60 million bounty when the war was over, he got it at the same time Luffy's bounty was increased to 100 million Belli, which is after they left Alabasta... So the 'Zoro has the high bouny on his head' excuse I made for separating him from the rest of the crew doesn't really fit in the timeline... I need to fix that. Yes._

_Moni – Thank you for your kind words and for pointing out the very obvious mistake with Sanji being severely OOC. Of course he kicks, not punches, I must have been thinking of something else when I wrote it, checked and double checked it. It has been fixed, and may it never rise again._

_Mavado – Another Swede? I didn't know! _

_Kute Anime Kitty – Well, I'm glad that you like it._


	12. Together again

The two pirates were met by loud screams as they emerged from the stairs. A flash of yellow light blinded them, followed closely by an explosion that mixed with new screams, the sounds ringing off the stone walls and echoing down the staircase behind them. Stumbling, the man-beast's massive form jolted and slumped forward, causing the captain to lose his grip around the doctor's neck. Through the feverish fogs of his mind, Luffy felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as they fell forward.

As the man-beast landed on the floor, Luffy rolled off his back and forced his aching body into a sitting position. The only light in the room came from four flickering torches in the corners, but through the semi-darkness he could see the blurred outlines of people dressed in white closing in on him. Rubbing his eyes, he managed to gain some of his vision back and could get a better look at the Marines in front of him. There were many of them – more than ten if he wasn't seeing double again – and most of them carried guns. But through the haze of his confused vision, he slowly noticed that at least four of them were carrying long strange-looking weapons that set off warning-bells in the back of the man's clouded mind. The memory of getting weak without being in water flashed across his mind.

There was a thick smell filling the room; a smell that made him think of Usopp's workshop back on the Going Merry. Gunpowder. Before he could find the source of the smell, one of the soldiers screamed something while pointing a gun directly at him. How stupid could a person get? Anyone should know that bullets didn't affect a man made of rubber.

Behind him, the man-beast moved slowly, emitting a low moaning as he did so, the movement brushing tufts of rough fur against Luffy's arm. There was another scream coming from the soldiers in front of them, and this time, the captain could clearly hear what they were saying.

"The monster is getting up! Shoot it again!"

With his body aching for every move he made, Luffy forced himself up on one knee, his eyes locked on the Marines in front of him. His arms and legs were heavy and the world seemed to be ready to spin before his eyes, but he still managed to move to the left as one of the Marine soldiers' guns went off, sending a bullet into the rubber man's left shoulder. The bullet continued along its course, stretching out the skin on the back of the man's shoulder to the point where it lost all its speed, and was ricocheted back at the Marines. The soldiers crouched down as the bullet embedded itself in the stone wall behind them.

Rising to his feet, his eyes hazy from the fever, Luffy took several deep breaths to clear his fogged mind. Behind him, the man-beast gave up a weak gasp, causing the man to glance back at his nakama.

"Bullets don't hurt me…" he said hoarsely, turning to the Marines, who were getting back up on their feet again. "But I don't like to be shot at. Take it easy, Chopper, I'll handle this."

For a long time, Luffy had been furious and frustrated at not being able to find his nakama, but he had been too restricted by the cell and his own sickness to do anything about it. Now, he had the opportunity to do so, and he felt the emotions transfer into his hammering heart beat an cry of rage as he threw himself forward, attacking the Marine who had fired the gun at him. The force of his punch sent the Marine flying straight into the wall across the room, while Luffy turned his aching body around as swiftly as he could, sending a storm of quick punches towards another soldier.

Luffy was definitely winning against that soldier, but as it took most of his power to focus on one opponent, he didn't notice the other Marines who were getting closer to him. Some of them were even getting too close as he still recovered from his own attacks, his vision slipping in and out of focus when he turned around to find a new target for his punches. He was almost knocked to the ground when he received a sharp elbow directly to the open wound in his stomach, and as Luffy stumbled back with a hissing gasp, he wondered vaguely if the Marine had aimed at the wound on purpose or if it had just been out of pure luck.

Temporarily blinded by the excruciating pain flashing through his body and the roaring sound in his ears as his blood rushed through his veins, he couldn't dodge a kick to his back and was flung forward, rolling over the floor until he came to a halt next to the fallen man-beast. Grinding his teeth, he turned around in time to catch another round of bullets fired by other Marines right to his chest, tearing the two upper buttons from his red vest. With a roar, he sent the bullets back towards the Marines and rose to his feet, the hazy fog in his eyes making way for a piercing glare of pure rage.

"Didn't I just say that I don't like to be shot?" he growled. Every part of his body protested when he stretched out his right arm behind him until the hand touched the wall behind him.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" he called out, thrusting his fist forward and sending another Marine into the stone wall as his punch connected with the soldier's chest.

Stumbling backwards as his arm snapped back in place, he suddenly realized very distantly that his head was feeling strangely cloudy and his vision was blurred into a myriad of pulsating white spots. Before he hit the floor, the only thought flashing through his head was why the snow falling in his face didn't feel cold.

The next thing he knew, he couldn't move. No matter what he did, his body wouldn't move the way he wanted it to. He felt something pressing against his chest and forced his heavy eyelids open. One of the Marines was standing over him, holding the end of a long, thick, rounded sword against his body, and two others were running up next to him with similar weapons in their hands.

Forcing his arm up to the weapon, Luffy gathered all his strength and tried to break it like he once had broken the sword that threatened Nami's freedom. But where before he would have been able to snap the metal with two fingers, this time it was almost impossible just to keep his hand on the sword. He blinked, noticing that his hand was shaking, but when the thought finally broke through his drowsy mind, he found that all his strength had rushed out of his body and his hand had already fallen limply by his side.

The sound of running steps coming from the corridor behind the Marines suddenly seeped through his fogged mind, but he found that he was too weak to do anything but lie still and listen to the distorted sounds of the yells that followed.

"Special attack: Rock Star!"

"Tiger Hunt!"

"Mouton Shot!"

"And an extra massive headache, just for you guys!"

The raven-haired man could feel the pressure of the weapon against his chest ease as the Marine turned around. He managed to lift his head to see what was going on, even if his neck trembled lightly in protest against the movement.

One of the Marines fell to the ground next to him, a rock the size of a small orange rolling over the floor away from the unconscious man. From the dark corridor, the flash of metal in a blur of white and green emerged, sending three of the soldiers to the floor with a gargling sound as all cried out in pain at once. Close after, four other Marines were swept to the floor by the force of a roundhouse kick and the twirling of a long staff.

The remaining Marines, all armed with the rounded swords - including the Marine standing next to Luffy – took a step back as the four pirates lined up in front of the corridor. The four of them made a formidable sight; Zoro with a sword in each hand and the hilt of the white sword secure between his teeth, Sanji with his hands deep in his pockets, Nami with a long staff leaning against her shoulder and Usopp holding up his slingshot loaded with another rock while his left arm was shaking uncontrollably. Nami stuck out her tongue and winked at the Marines.

"The cavalry is here," she purred.

To her left, Usopp grinned at the captain.

"At your service, Captain."

Luffy nodded, feeling calmer now. His nakama were safe, he didn't have to think about finding them any longer. Hearing the sound of swords cutting through the air, the painful yelps of the Marines and the dull sound of bodies falling to the floor, he lay down his head against the floor, grinning happily. His body was heavy, his head felt like it was filled with the stuff clouds were made of and his bones ached with every breath he took, but he could endure the pains just by hearing Zoro and Sanji argue about who had taken down the most Marines since their escape.

He looked up as he heard the sound of steps close to him and saw his friends standing around him. Behind him, the man-beast moved a little and a large hand suddenly covered Luffy's eyes and forehead.

"The fever is rising again…" the doctor said, his voice trembling.

"How about you, Chopper?" Usopp's voice echoed between the walls, traces of excitement still lingering in his tone. Luffy looked up at the long-nosed man, wondering for a moment why the sniper looked so strange. Then he noticed that Usopp had tied his brown bandana around his left upper arm. That was strange, indeed. _Maybe he's trying to look like Zoro to be braver._ Luffy thought to himself and decided that he was right.

"I- I think I've been shot…" the doctor stuttered, one of his large hands brushing over his chest. "But I don't think it's bad, I haven't felt any signs of organ failure."

"And you don't have any problems talking," Sanji commented as he was looking through one of the uniform pockets of one of the Marines. "I guess it's a good sign."

The captain turned his head towards the cook, who was muttering something about a shitty bastard of a Marine as he pulled out two small boxes from the inner pocket of the soldier's white vest and tucked them into his own pockets.

They had to get out. Out to Going Merry and back to the desert island to get Vivi and ask her to come with them. And find his hat. Then they could eat and head out for the next island. But first his hat. Hat, ship, Vivi, food and then the Grand Line.

"Chopper…" he said, his voice gentle, but still with enough edge to make it clear that he was expecting his friend to do everything in his power, nothing more and nothing less. "We're getting out of here now. Can you stand?"

Looking upwards until his eyes hurt as much as the rest of his body, he could see the large man-beast move, clearly fighting to get up to his feet. The captain knew that he wouldn't blame the reindeer if he couldn't get up, as long as he knew that his friend had done everything he could to try.

Nami hurried over to the doctor to support him. She picked up his pink hat that had rolled over the floor and let him lean against her with his arm around her shoulders while she did her best not to flinch as she had to put some of their weight on her left leg. The doctor was breathing quickly as he looked down at the captain, blood running from a wound in his chest.

"I can stand, but I'm not sure if I can walk. How about you, Captain?"

Luffy chuckled lightly. He looked up and was met by Zoro's outstretched hand. Taking the swordsman's outstretched hand, he pulled himself up, grinding his teeth as the wound in his stomach gave a nasty throb and sent a small river of thick blood flowing down the already blood-soaked bandages around his torso. Getting up to his feet, he could feel the others looking at him and was about to tell them that he was okay when the room started to spin violently around him. He was engulfed in a soft darkness which made all the pain in his muscles fade away, but he didn't fight it. His nakama were safe and they could take care of themselves against the Marines. He trusted in their power.

- e - e -

"Oi, Luffy…"

Zoro reached out his arm just in time to catch the captain as the man slumped forward, Luffy's eyes having slid half-closed as he appeared to lose consciousness. Zoro looked towards the doctor questioningly, leaning Luffy against his left shoulder and noticing how hot the black-haired man's body felt, almost like it was burning up from inside.

"He's okay, I think," the doctor said weakly, still leaning against Nami for support. "His fever is rising and he has lost a lot of blood, but that's nothing I can't fix once we get back to the Going Merry."

Usopp was sitting by the wall next to the entrance to the corridor, his head leaned against the cold stonewall and his eyes shut. He tightened his grip around his left shoulder as blue bolts of pain flashed through his body once again. Listening to the others talking, he looked up just in time to see Luffy pass out. He watched the others for a moment before getting up.

"Chopper, if you change into your small form, I'll carry you if you want."

The doctor shook his head, looking a bit guilty to decline such an offer.

"No, I can't change form. Not as long as I don't know where the bullet is. If it's close to a vital organ and I change form, there's a risk that it'll damage something inside me."

Usopp nodded, he understood the problem. To get his mind off the pain in his arm, he was just about to ask if there was anything else he could do instead when Zoro interrupted him.

"I'll carry you, Chopper" he said casually, still leaning Luffy against his left shoulder. "The Marines are going to wake up soon, and the sooner we get back to the ship, the better."

"I'll take Luffy," Sanji offered, lighting one of the cigarettes he had stolen from the Marine. Zoro gave a light, tired nod and handed over the unconscious seventeen-year-old to the cook. Then, he took two long steps over to Chopper and Nami, carefully and with ease lifting the large man-beast over his shoulder. Behind him, Usopp helped Sanji get the captain up on the cook's back, looking a bit awkward as he held his injured arm hanging limp by his side.

"Come on, then," Zoro said, walking into the dark corridor with Chopper resting over his left shoulder.

"Wait a minute; shouldn't we take a torch with us?" Usopp asked, pointing at one of the lit torches hanging from the wall in the corners of the room. Nami gave the marksman a light push between the shoulders to make him start moving.

"No, we don't need that." She stated calmly.

Setting off jogging after the swordsman and the cook who had already disappeared into the darkness of the corridor, Usopp and Nami silently hoped that they wouldn't run into any more Marines on their way. The two strong warriors – who were walking ahead of them while arguing quietly about something only they knew and cared about – had their hands full carrying the doctor and the captain. This would leave most of the fighting to Usopp and Nami, something neither of them would have been excited about on a normal day, but which sounded even worse considering their current injuries.

The group turned left in the pitch-black corridor and heard rushed voices echoing between the walls back at them. The faint flickering from a torch's light appeared at the far end of the corridor, causing Zoro and Sanji to fall silent.

"We've got more company," Sanji said, hoisting Luffy further up on his back and getting a better grip around the man's legs as he measured the level of energy that was left in his body. He wouldn't last long if the patrol at the other end of the corridor were large, but he was sure that he had enough strength in him to beat more Marines than Zoro before he went down.

* * *

_Once again, thank you so much for beta-reading this chapter, Karaleyn. Your advice was of so much help for me, I'll remember all your advice when writing in the future… Like when I start writing chapter 13 once I've uploaded this chapter :D_

_**Note:** If things work out the way I want them to, I'll be reworking and reposting the first 11 chapters once I finish the last two chapters (if the story would be nice and not get a life of its own so that it follows the plan I've made up for it) of this story… _


	13. Breaking out

Getting shot once was bad, but getting shot twice on the same day was hell of a lot worse. Usopp slid down against the slimy wall, feeling his own blood run down along the right side of his chest from the new wound close to his shoulder. His slingshot was lying on the floor in front of him, one of the prongs broken right off. A useless piece of wood beyond repair. He was really going to miss that slingshot. But what good was a slingshot when you couldn't use it?

Most of the marksman's mind was focused on the blinding new pain in his right shoulder, but he was still able to register that someone stepped between him and the remaining Marines. Someone dressed in a dusty black suit and with a strange red and blue lump on his back.

"Damn it, Usopp! Are you alright?"

Usopp clenched his teeth as his whole body shivered from another flash of pain racing through him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I can't move my arms at the moment, but other than that, everything is bloody peachy!" he grunted, not regretting his tone immediately. "How about you?" he added in a less sarcastic tone, slowly raising his left hand to his shoulder, clenching his teeth as pain flashed through both his arms.

Sanji spun around, the heel of his right shoe slamming into the side of a Marine soldier's neck. The soldier flew through the air and crashed into the green-haired swordsman, who was fighting with only one sword since he was still carrying the large doctor over his shoulder. The cook was met by enraged insults made by both Zoro and Chopper as they got up from under the unconscious Marine, but Sanji calmly returned some insults of his own and turned his head to glare at Usopp. Usopp returned the glare from where he sat against the wall, pointing out that _he_ hadn't been the one delivering the kick that sent the enemy flying in the wrong direction. Sanji blew out a puff of smoke and nodded towards the unconscious captain on his back.

"It would be easier to fight if I wasn't carrying this feverish sack of rubber on my back. Here, Usopp, hold him for a moment, will you?"

He loosened his grip around the captain's legs and let the black-haired man slip off his back and down onto the floor next to Usopp. Then he turned towards the remaining Marines, tapping the ashes off his cigarette before shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

Usopp winced as the captain slid against the slippery wet stone wall and ended up leaning heavily against the marksman's left arm. Hoping that the captain wouldn't start to drool all over him, Usopp leaned his head against the wall, not even wincing as a stray bullet fired by some Marine dug itself into the wall above his head. Through the increasing clouds in his mind, he listened to the sounds of the battle in the narrow corridor; Zoro's and Sanji's voices as they exchanged insults while fighting; the singing clangs of swords colliding and the muffled grunts of the soldiers at the receiving end of Nami's staff or Sanji's kicks. There wasn't enough energy in his body for him to be afraid of getting shot again – the only thing he bothered to think of was that if someone sent a Marine soldier crashing into him, they would have to face the wrath of Captain Usopp.

That thought amused him, even as his newly wounded shoulder felt like it was on fire. His left side was also strangely warm, but even through the fogs of pain that lowered itself over his brain, he was quick to notice that the warmth was coming from the captain leaning against his aching arm. The sticky, feverish heat radiated from the man with such intensity that Usopp could almost see the air around him dance the way it did during the blazing hot days out in the deserts of Alabasta.

After a few more minutes, the battle was over, and the last Marine sank to the moist floor next to the flickering torch the soldiers had brought with them. Nami hurried over to where Usopp and Luffy were sitting, dropping her metal staff to the floor with a clatter as she moved the captain back against the wall and away from Usopp's arm. The marksman gave her a grateful look and tried his best not to flinch when his right shoulder sent out a searing wave of pain through his arm.

"Usopp, are you alright? You're so pale…"

Usopp tried to shake his head, but as soon as he moved, new blue flashes of pain rushed through his body. Nami carefully moved the marksman's hand away from his shoulder and examined the wound. Then she gestured for Zoro to come closer. The swordsman obeyed and kneeled by the navigator in front of Usopp. Nami reached out for the doctor who was still hanging over Zoro's shoulder and patted him on the shoulder.

"Chopper, do you think you can take care of Usopp's wound?"

"No!" Usopp gasped as he sat up straight, the movement creating large red spots in front of his eyes. There was no time to be examined, not there in the corridor anyway. "I'm fine, just a little bit spaced out. We'll take care of it once we get back to Going Merry."

Nami hesitated for a moment, looking at Usopp with her eyes narrowing slightly, but then she nodded and reached for her staff. Standing up at the same time as Zoro did, she asked Sanji if he would mind carrying Luffy the rest of the way. Sanji wasn't slow to agree to carry the captain, expressing his eternal love for the navigator while he reached out over Usopp to lift the captain onto his back again.

Usopp pushed his back against the wall and waited for Sanji to haul Luffy back up on his back before he pushed himself off the floor. Moving so fast left him dizzy, but he could still follow the others through the rest of the tunnel, his left hand tightly clenched around his right shoulder. Ahead of him, in the fading light from the torch they left behind with the Marines, Zoro and Sanji had taken up their argument over who had taken down the most Marines so far.

"What are you talking about, you shitty swordsman?" Sanji said, sounding offended as he turned around to glare at Zoro, walking backwards in the corridor as he continued: "I took down that officer while you were tending to Chopper."

"One officer is still only one man, you idiot," Zoro said calmly, but with a sharp edge in his voice. "I'm still in the lead."

"Only with three soldiers!"

After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the stairs up to the next floor. At this time, Usopp was leaning against Nami's right shoulder as they started climbing the stairs, his head feeling lighter and lighter. When they reached the top of the stairs, slightly blinded by the light from the torches hanging along one side of the new corridor, Usopp's mind was instantly cleared as he noticed that the Marines he and Sanji had fought earlier were gone. Sanji noticed it as well, stopped arguing with Zoro and turned around towards the rest of the crew as they walked up the last steps of the stairs, doing his best to disguise how out of breath he really was.

"It seems like we need to get out fast, before they get enough reinforcements to stop us." A shadow flashed across the cook's face as he continued. "I hate to say it, but I don't think I will last any more large battles like the one down there in the corridor."

Usopp looked down at the floor in the torch-lit hall, his eyes widening as he noticed the dark footprints following the cook up to the place where he was standing. How much blood could the man have lost by now, if his feet had been bleeding all the time since they broke out from their cells? And still, he was walking upright, fighting the Marines, carrying Luffy on his back and arguing with Zoro as if nothing was wrong. Usopp couldn't even imagine how much pain the cook must be in, and he felt ashamed that he couldn't handle his own pain that well.

"Does anyone remember which way we walked on our way to the cells?" Sanji continued. Glancing at Zoro, he added: "That question wasn't directed to anyone without a sense of direction."

"Shut up." Zoro muttered tiredly, adjusting the weight of the doctor on his shoulder, causing the man-beast to wince in pain. "Sorry…" the swordsman said quietly, hearing the doctor whimper in return.

Sanji smirked, hoisting the captain further up on his back, seeing stars dance in front of his eyes as the black-haired man's forehead collided with the back of his head. He quickly gathered himself enough to hide the dizziness he experienced and glanced at Zoro with a facial expression he hoped looked smug or possibly even annoying.

"What? Is the great pirate hunter Zoro starting to feel the blood loss creeping up on him?"

"You wish," Zoro muttered, a hint of amusement in his voice as he wrapped his left arm a bit tighter around the doctor's body, for a brief moment forgetting that he was carrying a living being over his shoulder. "I'll take on all the Marines in this damn base if I have to."

"Good, then let's get going." Sanji said, starting to follow the corridor to their left, walking in the opposite direction they had walked earlier on their way down into the dungeons. The others followed him. Zoro was talking calmingly to Chopper, who was still being carried over the swordsman's left shoulder. Nami leaned the metal staff over her shoulder while she was keeping an eye on Usopp, who suddenly had decided that he was strong enough to walk on his own, even though he looked wobbly enough to topple over at any moment where he walked close behind the navigator.

A long time ago, Nami had realized that she was never going to understand the mind of the men around her, so she didn't even bother to wonder what could be fuelling the marksman's spirit all of a sudden. Her mind was instead focused on their current problem – to find the way to the first floor and the entrance hall. There were no windows in the corridor, which could mean that they were either close to the center of the base or that the base simply didn't have any windows.

In any case, getting down to the first floor had to be their number one priority. They could worry about finding the entrance hall once they reached the right floor.

"I think I was in some kind of tower," Zoro said all of a sudden, startling his friends a little by breaking the silence that had fallen over them. "But I'm not sure, there were no windows except two tiny ones up by the ceiling. Anyway, I walked down at least four floors before I even got my swords back. Then I didn't reach any more stairs until I found you…" The swordsman frowned as he tried to think back, but he couldn't remember walking down any more stairs after getting his swords back.

"Great story," Sanji said teasingly, turning around to smirk at Zoro. "Does it have a punch line?"

"No, wait!" Nami said, looking thoughtful as she tapped the end of her staff lightly against her right temple. "We never walked down any stairs when we were taken to the cells, did we?" She looked around at Sanji and Usopp, but didn't wait for them to reply as she continued. "That would mean that we're already on the first floor now, which would make it perfectly logical that the entrance hall is located somewhere on this floor!"

The next thing Sanji did was something that at least Usopp found somewhat disturbing. Instead of swooning and praising Nami's intelligence or anything like that, the blond cook just turned his head and looked at Nami over his right shoulder, smiled and nodded his head.

"Very clever, Nami-san," he said tiredly. "That's really good news, it means no more stairs to climb…"

Finding himself quite unnerved by Sanji's odd behavior, Usopp tightened his grip around his wounded arm a little. The pain that shot out in his arm and up along his neck towards his head helped clearing his thoughts, even if he had to clench his teeth tightly to keep himself from screaming. But he couldn't get rid of the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach, even as they turned right once they reached the fork in the road and headed further into the Marine base.

- e – e-

After running around in the maze of corridors, the Straw Hat pirates came to a halt behind a corner as the sound of nervous voices echoed from a room nearby. Carefully poking her head around the corner, Nami gasped and withdrew her head again. They were standing at one end of the large entrance hall and in the other end of the room, a large group of Marines armed with guns, swords and other large weapons were blocking the only exit.

Zoro growled and let Chopper slide down from his shoulder, letting Nami and Usopp support the doctor while he tightened the black bandana tied around his head. As he reached for his swords, he looked around at his friends, his eyes narrowing in the shadow of the bandana.

"I'll take care of them. As soon as you see an opening – Run."

He unsheathed Wadou Ichimonji and placed the hilt securely between his teeth before he drew the other two swords, holding one in each hand. Stepping in front of the rest of the crew, he glanced over his shoulder at them, a small part of his mind well aware that it could be the last time he saw them. Then again, he reminded himself, that part of his mind had always been such a pessimist.

"I'll catch up with you by the boats," he said calmly, even though he could feel large drops of sweat already forming under the black band. "Just run and don't look back."

"Good luck, Zoro," Nami said, straightening her back under the weight of the doctor, who was silently looking up at the swordsman under the brim of his hat with a terrified and still admiring look in his eyes.

"Don't get killed," Usopp added, one of his eyes tightly shut as Chopper leaned heavily against his left arm.

"If you die, I'll kill you," Sanji said, smirking towards the swordsman as he got a better grip around the legs of the unconscious captain on his back. He was shifting his bodyweight from one leg to the other which made him look quite nervous or anxious, but it was only to keep the pressure off his aching feet for long enough so that he would be able to run without tripping over himself. Zoro returned the smirk as well as he could with the sword between his teeth.

"Yeah, right back at 'cha…"

Taking a deep breath, Zoro stepped around the corner, making himself visible to the Marines as he crossed his arms across his bleeding chest. The soldiers were startled by his sudden appearance, but they were quick to gather themselves and drew their weapons while calling for him to stop. As Zoro ran towards the Marines with his head lowered to avoid getting hit by one of the bullets fired from Marine pistols, he could hear the others following him out into the entrance hall. It was time for the diversion.

"Demon…" he exclaimed as he reached the group of Marines, diving into the crowd while uncrossing his arms.

"…Cleave!"

The attack was forceful enough to send shockwaves through the crowd, causing the Marines standing close to Zoro to fly or stumble backwards while crying out in pain. Zoro turned around to prepare another attack and caught a glimpse of the others making their way around the stunned Marines towards the large double doors. He hoped that they would make it outside in time before his next attack reached the peak of its power. Around him, the Marines were moving up towards him, their weapons drawn. A very predictable move, and also a perfect opportunity to finish the battle – even though he wasn't sure if the situation he was in would count as a battle; it was more like a kid burning ants with a magnifying glass.

"Dragon…"

He spun the two swords in his hands – one clock-wise and the other counter clock-wise – with amazing speed, letting his body join in the spinning motion as he created a whirlwind that grew stronger for each second. Every muscle in the swordsman's body screamed as he pushed himself to finish the attack. He couldn't see if his friends had made it out of the room yet, but as he could feel the force of his attack gather in a razor-sharp coil, he sincerely hoped that they had escaped.

"…Coil!"

Still spinning, he made a leap into the air, the screams of the Marines ringing in his ears as the coil twisted around itself inside the room, cutting everything and everyone that came in its way. When Zoro landed on the floor and finished the attack with his arms spread out to the sides, he could feel the razor-sharp edges of the coil cut through his own defenses. The attack had backfired once the coil reached the low ceiling and was thrown back out into the four corners of the room.

The screams of the Marines grew stronger as the whole room was taken over by the roaring, uncontrollable whirlwind, and Zoro wasn't sure if his own screams were added to the noise inside the hall or not. He could feel his already open wounds deepen, and new, deeper ones getting added all over his body, but he wasn't feeling any pain. _Not yet anyway_, he thought to himself, feeling his head getting thrown to the side as a part of the coil slashed him across the left cheek, almost tearing off his ear in the process.

Once the last gust of wind died out, Zoro was the only one in the room still standing. Slowly sheathing his swords one by one, he dropped to his knees on the floor, breathing heavily and cursing as he felt a sting of pain race across his back when he leaned forward. _Chopper better be able to stitch that wound up without it leaving too much of a scar_, he thought to himself the moment before he fell forward onto the floor, the cuts all over his body starting to get his attention in pulsating flashes of pain. Just a few minutes of rest, that was all he needed before he could follow the others.

How could he have been so careless as to use the Dragon Coil indoors? If he had had control over his legs, he would have kicked himself for being so careless. Would the world's greatest swordsman ever make a mistake like that? Zoro doubted that with his whole being as he started to regain control over his own body through the burning in his muscles.

"Damn Marines…" he muttered, coughing as he inhaled sand and dust piled up on the floor by the wind. Allowing his body to rest, he decided that if any of the Marines as much as tried to stop him from leaving once he had rested, he wouldn't hesitate to draw his swords, not even against a mortally wounded man.

- e – e-

Kicking the last of the two double doors open with his aching feet, Sanji turned around and beckoned the rest of the crew to hurry up. They could all hear the increasing noise and screams coming from inside the base, and felt the strange gusts of wind that threatened to suck them back into the building. Sanji could see Usopp and Nami turn around to look back inside the entrance hall while they were still supporting Chopper between them.

"Hey, come on!" he called out, feeling his arms starting to go numb from carrying Luffy on his back. From the warm, wet and sticky feeling in the back of his neck, Sanji came to the conclusion that the unconscious and feverish captain was drooling and he was glad that he hadn't put on a more expensive shirt before they arrived to Albana. The one he was wearing now was already ready to be thrown out with the trash or burned because of all the bloodstains and cuts that were covering the cloth.

"We have to get to the docks and see if Going Merry is here or not!" Sanji said as he had got the other's attention, pulling his own attention off his destroyed shirt for a moment.

Coming out into the strong afternoon sunlight was a bit of a shock after spending almost two days in the dark prison, but as soon as the cook's eyes had got used to the light, he could get a good look at their surroundings.

They were standing on a rough wooden platform that stuck out from the stone island which formed the foundation of the Marine base. Far below them, the waves of the ocean crashed into the pointy cliffs surrounding the island. To their left, a set of stairs carved out from the stone led down along the edge of the island towards the docks down by the ocean. From his position at the edge of the platform, Sanji could see the ships lying anchored side by side along the shore. And there, a few meters away from the rest of the ships, the very familiar caravel bobbed calmly in the waves. The sails and flag weren't set, but the large wooden sheep's head at the prow was hard to miss, even from a distance.

"There she is…" he said, turning around to move away from the edge of the platform, fully aware of the dark footprints he left behind him as he started walking down the stone stairs.

He could feel Nami, Usopp and Chopper follow him, and slowed down his pace. He didn't want to add any more stress to the situation by running down the stairs, and felt that if he hadn't had the pain throbbing all the way up from the soles of his feet to his knees and across his chest, he would have offered to help his friends carry Chopper. But now, all he could do was to glance back at the struggling pirates and mutter pointless phrases like 'Not much left now' or 'You're doing great' under his breath.

The beat-the-most-Marines competition had completely vanished from Sanji's mind. He couldn't think of anything else than to get back out to sea with the rest of the clan, get one of his own cigarettes and prepare food for an army to get his mind off his sore feet and ribs. Then he would be able to settle the competition with Zoro, but not before that. He realized, however, that since Zoro had stayed behind to fight off the Marines so that the rest of them could escape, it meant that the swordsman would win the competition – or at least increase his lead with fifty-or-so soldiers. Maybe it would be wise to avoid bringing that competition up again.

When the pirates came down the stairs, Sanji stopped in his tracks as he saw the man standing guard by the ships, feeling the others collide with him from behind. He nodded towards the single guard, a large bearded man who was dressed in a long pink coat with a pair of white wings attached to the shoulders on top of his white uniform. Sanji frowned as the uniform-clad man suddenly got up on the tips of his toes, kicking and spinning in a ballet-like manner while counting "Un, deux, oraaa…" to himself. A muscle twitched in the cook's lower eyelid as the dancing man spotted them and spread out his arms in greeting, touching the left side of his face to regain his normal appearance.

"What the crap is _he_ doing here?" Sanji muttered, hearing Usopp mutter something similar behind him as they stared at the man wearing the heavy make-up.

* * *

_Jade Tatsu – I didn't know that my fic gave that kind of vibes… Well, we'll see what happens, won't we? Thanks for reviewing._

_I'm pretty happy with this chapter, even if I wrote most of it post-midnight last night :D Actually, the rough summaries for the two last chapters are done now, I just need to get the time to write them down and upload them… We'll see when I get the time to do that._


	14. Freedom

The marines around him were starting to move. He could hear their bodies and clothes scrape against the concrete where he lay sprawled on the dusty floor. It was pretty surprising to hear them move already, considering the amount of damage the Dragon Coil must have done to them. The swordsman gave up a hoarse, dry laughter before opening his eyes to analyze the result of his attack. There were large slashes all over the walls and the ceiling, most of them lightly curved, as from sweeping cuts from a huge sword. Injured Marines were lying all over the floor around him. Some of them were screaming or moaning in pain, but most of them were moving quietly, fighting to get back up from the floor.

The first thing he could think of once his mind slipped out of observation mode was how long he could have been lying there. If he had been out cold for too long, he wouldn't blame his nakama if they had set sail and taken off without him. He would be annoyed and maybe even angry at them for it, but he wouldn't blame them. Then again, if they hadn't taken off without him yet, he should probably try to get out of the base.

Turning his head so that his forehead was pressed against the floor, he tried moving his arms to support himself. His muscles burned and protested as he pulled his arms to his sides and pushed himself off the floor, his blood dripping from the deep cuts in his chest and arms when he moved.

"_What? Is the great pirate hunter Zoro starting to feel the blood-loss creeping up on him?"_

The cook's voice echoed in his mind and made him clench his teeth harder as he pushed himself up on his hands and knees. No. He would show that pathetic excuse for a cook that losing some blood wasn't going to slow him down. Plus, he was pretty sure that he had won their little competition now when there were no more Marines to beat.

Blood was dripping into his eyes as he hanged his head towards the floor, taking deep breaths to stop his vision from slipping out of focus again. For a moment, he couldn't feel anything in his whole body. Everything was swept into a warm, numbing mist that threatened to swallow him, just like the darkness had swallowed him once he allowed his body to rest after releasing the Dragon Coil upon the marines. But this time, he wasn't going to allow himself to fade away like that. Lifting a hand he knew was located somewhere in the numbness that was his body, he pressed his fingers against the slash in his cheek, feeling the searing waves of pain wake every muscle in him as they rushed out in his limbs.

Awakened by the new pain, Zoro found new strength flowing inside him. Pulling up one knee towards his bleeding stomach, he set down his foot firmly against the ground. When he felt that his balance was returning to normal, he did the same with his other leg and slowly stood up. Colorful spots danced in front of his eyes when he straightened his back and pulled off his bandana. He tied the black cloth around his left upper arm and waited for his vision to return, swaying lightly when his body tried to adjust to the temporary loss of one of his senses.

The moaning and screams of the Marines were growing stronger around him when he regained his vision, and he made sure that his three swords were securely tied to his waistband before turning towards the open double doors. As he started walking, an explosion echoed in the room and a bullet embedded itself in the wooden door frame just in front of Zoro. The sounds in the room died out, leaving only the creaking of the outer doors moving in a gust of wind.

Turning around, Zoro spotted the shooter lying on the floor, the pistol aimed directly at him. The Marine's bloodstained hands were shaking violently, and he stared wildly at Zoro.

"Stop right there!" he called out, his voice trembling. "Don't move or I'll shoot!"

"Che." Zoro smirked at the Marine, turning away again. "If you wanted to shoot me, you wouldn't have aimed at the doorframe to begin with."

It wasn't a wise move to turn his back against an armed opponent, and Zoro was well aware of this. He kept on walking through the first set of doors, the armed man's strained threats to shoot echoing behind him, but there were no more gunshots. Instead, the clattering of a metal item falling to the concrete floor reached the swordsman's ears and he smirked once more.

Reaching the outer set of doors and walking out to the edge of the wooden platform outside the base, Zoro lifted a badly cut hand to shield his eyes from the strong sun. A cold breeze brought small droplets of saltwater with it as it passed by him where he stood above the ocean. The stinging pain from the saltwater seeping into his wounds made him hiss involuntarily, and he turned away from the edge of the platform just in time to catch the sound of running steps coming from inside the building. In one sweeping moment, he unsheathed Sandai Kitetsu and held it out towards the open doors, feeling the sword's bloodthirst pulsate against his palm.

The bespectacled woman stopped dead in her tracks as she came out through the open doors, staring up along the blade of the cursed sword at the swordsman. Zoro barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. Challenging the Marine at that point would be very stupid.

"Oh, it's you again," he said tiredly. "What do you want?"

The woman pushed her rectangular glasses further up over the bridge of her nose. The edge of the sword was still pointing directly at her face, but she gathered herself enough to glare at him.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded to know, looking almost as if she hadn't meant to say anything. "Why would you kill so many men just to protect some pirates?"

"I'm also a pirate," Zoro pointed out, blinking as new blood started to trickle down into his eyes. "And I think the men in there are very much alive – dead men usually don't mention that they are in pain, and they definitely don't scream about it."

"The men in there are dying!" the woman shouted, pointing in the direction of the entrance. "They're dying just because of some pirates who didn't like it in prison!"

Zoro sent the female Marine a cold glare, turning his sword away from her and sliding it back into its sheath. He had had just about enough of the woman – her attitude, her face, her voice; everything about her.

"Yeah well, my captain is probably dying at this very moment as well, because some psycho with stupid sand powers thought that it would be fun to destroy a whole kingdom. So if you're not going to fight me again, I'm going to join my crew now."

He turned away and noticed the stone stairs leading away from the platform. There were smeared, dark red footprints leading down the stairs, and Zoro decided to follow them. But as he set his foot on the first step, he stopped.

"Tell them not to move around," he said without turning around.

"What?"

"The soldiers. The Dragon Coil does the most damage and causes the most blood-loss if the victim moves around after being hit by it. So tell them to stay still."

He wasn't even sure why the hell he was telling her that, he had intended to let them try to stay alive on their own, but then Luffy's voice as he ordered Zoro to save the Marine with the smoke powers back in Crocodile's lair had come to his mind. Zoro shook his head and started walking down the stone stairs again, his open wounds stinging and bleeding as more saltwater was sprayed over him by another gust of wind.

- e – e -

Behind the swordsman, Tashigi sank down to her knees on the platform, her hands resting in her lap as she looked after Zoro. She cursed under her breath, lifting her left hand to remove her glasses.

"I'll practice harder, Lolonoa Zoro," she muttered. "The next time we meet, I'm going to free those swords from your command."

- e – e –

When Zoro came down to the docks, he was relieved to see the familiar sheep's head at the far end of the harbor. It looked like the ship was ready to depart; the flags were fluttering in the breeze and the sails were ready to be set and seemed to be anxious – if sails had the ability to be anxious – to be filled with wind and set out to sea again. Zoro straightened his back as he got closer to the ship, trying to keep himself from looking too tired. He definitely didn't want to attract Chopper's attention with more than the open wounds that covered his body. Getting scolded for pushing himself too hard was nothing he looked forward to in addition to the doctor's usual nagging about not working out while his injuries were healing.

"Zoro!" a voice echoed from the prow of the ship. Zoro looked up and spotted Nami standing by the railing, waving down at him. "It's about time you showed up. Cast off, will you?"

After cutting the ropes that tied the Going Merry to the dock, Zoro walked up the gangplank to the main deck, catching a glimpse of Chopper – back in his small teddy bear-like form and with bandages covering most of his little body – adjusting the bandages around Usopp's shoulders over by the main mast. When he jumped down from the railing, he stopped and stared at the black-haired man who was dancing across the deck dressed in a white uniform and a long pink coat with white wings attached to the shoulders.

Nami came limping down the stairs from the prow, her left leg wrapped in bandages up to her knee, and her right shoulder hidden behind a thick layer of bandages and band-aids. It looked like Chopper had recovered enough to start patching up the crew. Nami nodded towards the former numberagent, who was spinning around with amazing speed while singing some strange song way out of key.

"Turns out that Bon Clay here has been guarding the ship disguised as a Marine," she explained, not taking any notice of the blood covering the swordsman. "In return, he just asked for a lift to his own ship, so he's going with us for a while."

Zoro groaned as he bent down to lift up the gangplank. He put it down against the railing and sighed. Having a former enemy aboard the ship could be dangerous.

"Not all the way back to Alabasta, I hope," he muttered, turning to walk to the anchor deck. "Should I raise the anchor?"

"Yes, but we're not going back to Alabasta, I'm afraid," Nami said sadly, looking after Zoro.

"Why not?" Zoro frowned. Not going back to Alabasta? What the hell was going on? Then, an unfamiliar voice was heard, causing Zoro to turn around, this time staring at the tall woman who was walking towards them across the deck with her arms folded.

"Because, swordsman-san, the Marines have established a temporary base in Albana while the kingdom is being rebuilt," the woman said calmly. "It would be very unwise to return there, especially since you've just escaped from a Marine prison."

"I meant to tell you," Nami said, leaning towards Zoro as she spoke. "This is Nico Robin. She's our new crewmember."

Shaking his head tiredly, Zoro rubbed at a sore point in his left temple, wondering what else could have happened during the time he had been away from the crew. Having two former enemies aboard the ship could definitely be dangerous, considering how highly ranked both of them had been in the hierarchy of the Baroque Works.

"Whatever…" he said roughly, shrugging as he turned away again. He hoped that he looked as indifferent as he had meant to when he entered the military storage room to raise the anchor. Inside the military storage room, he turned the capstand with one hand and felt the tug at the line as the anchor made its way up from the water. Once the anchor had been raised, Zoro wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, wincing as the pain in the wounds flared up again. He had completely forgotten about the injuries and everything else that had happened. The only thing he wanted to do was to sleep. Now that he thought about it, a month wouldn't be close to enough time to sleep.

Leaving the anchor deck, he noted that the sails had been set and that the ship was slowly moving away from the rocky island. Finally, they were on their way again. Zoro intended to go up to the stern and sleep under the mandarin trees, but in his increasing sleepiness, he wasn't paying much attention to where he was going, and found himself on a collision course with the former numberagent, who was entertaining Usopp and Chopper with his Mane Mane Montage down by the main mast. He tried to avoid getting hit or kicked straight in the face as the okama was performing a re-enactment of his battle against Sanji, and made it to the other side of the ship without anyone noticing him. Or so he thought.

Chopper suddenly cried out as he noticed Zoro's blood-drenched clothes and hurried over to pursue the swordsman to go down to the storage room to get his wounds cleaned. Zoro tried to convince the little doctor that he just needed to sleep. Despite Chopper's persistent demands to know what had happened to him, Zoro walked up the stairs to the upper deck, where he lay down in the shade of the mandarin trees and immediately fell into a deep sleep. He didn't even wake up when Chopper and Bon Clay brought him down into the storage room below the lounge so that the doctor could start stitching up the numerous deep cuts on his body.

- e – e –

The night that followed wasn't pleasant. Usopp tried to turn around in his hammock below deck, glad that the pain killers Chopper had given him were working. The pain in his heavily bandaged shoulders had been reduced to a dull throbbing, but he still couldn't sleep. The silence in the almost empty room was only broken by the occasional snore from Zoro, who was fast asleep on the couch by the wall to the left. How the swordsman could sleep despite his injuries – which had to hurt like hell, since Chopper had mentioned that Zoro had refused to take any pain killers – was completely beyond his understanding.

Sighing, Usopp swung his legs over the edge of his hammock and he slid down onto the floor. With great difficulty, he climbed up through the hatch in the ceiling up onto the main deck. The sky above wore a deep blue color with stars scattered like diamonds over the caravel that lay anchored close to a small reef. They had been sailing in the direction Nami's log post pointed out until it turned too dark to see where they were going in the moon-less night. Bon Clay and Robin had offered to keep watch during the night, and no one had objected to that. They had all been too worn out to even think about staying up half the night, keeping an eye out for Marines who could be chasing after them.

But when Usopp looked around over the deck, he noticed that he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep. Nami was sitting in her beach chair next to the stairs to the lounge, wrapped in a blanket against the chilly wind. Sanji came out from the kitchen, carrying a tray with two cups filled with something that was steaming hot in his hand. The cook walked down the stairs, his posture strangely stiff each time he put his bandaged feet down. He nodded towards Usopp as he took notice of his presence.

"There's tea in the kitchen if you want some," he said calmly before offering one of the cups to Nami. Her compliments made him bow stiffly, as if the small movement was very painful to make.

"Thanks," Usopp said, now feeling a bit cold. Tea could be just what he needed to get some sleep. "Where are the others?"

"The okama is sleeping in the lounge," Sanji said as he walked up to the main mast and looked up towards the crow's nest. "Robin-chan, my love! I brought your tea!"

"Thank you," came a soft reply from the crow's nest above their heads. A row of over twenty arms suddenly sprouted from the mast, carefully taking the tray with the cup from Sanji's hands and slowly but steadily lifting it up to the platform. Sanji smiled as the woman complimented the drink. Then the cook turned to Usopp again.

"Robin-chan said that she'll keep watch, and Chopper is down in the storage tending to Luffy."

"How's he doing?" Usopp asked, shivering in the cold wind blowing past them.

"Luffy? I have no idea. Chopper won't let anyone get down there." Sanji said, pulling a cigarette from the pack in his inner pocket. He lit it casually, and as he shook the match to put out the flame, he nodded for Usopp to follow him. "Come on, I'll get you some tea. Chopper would kill me if I let you catch a cold on top of your injuries."

"So… uh…" Usopp said, following after Sanji up to the lounge. "You're not mad at me anymore?"

"What? Oh, that. Of course I am," Sanji said casually, opening the door to the kitchen and walking inside. "But not even hitting three women is something I would let you starve or get sick for. No, I have something better in mind for that." He looked back at Usopp with a devilish grin on his face.

"Oh." Usopp walked inside the lounge, not completely at ease with the thought that he at least would be full and healthy when Sanji decided to kick his ass.

The warm, sweet scent of the dinner they had eaten earlier was still lingering inside the kitchen, and it was making Usopp's stomach growl a little. But he decided against asking for something to eat, Sanji didn't seem to be in good shape, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Instead, the marksman sat down by the table, leaning lightly over the table top. Bon Clay was sitting at the other end of the table, leaning his head against his folded arms over the wooden surface. His pink coat was hanging over one of the counters in the kitchen area, and Usopp noted that except for the heavy make-up, the man looked almost normal when he was sleeping.

Something soft hit him in the back of his neck, and he turned around. There was a grey blanket lying on the floor behind him. As he picked it up, he saw Sanji coming towards him with a mug filled with tea.

"Come on, get out. I don't want him to wake up. I can only stand so much of that okama in one day," the cook said, handing the mug to Usopp and gesturing for the door.

"Okay. I should start working on Nami's new Clima Tact anyway," Usopp said, draping the blanket over his shoulders with some difficulty. The blanket kept getting caught in his bandages and it caused him some amount of pain before he got it wrapped around himself. "Thanks for the tea and the blanket."

"Don't mention it," Sanji said, walking away towards his kitchen. When Usopp opened the door and let the chilly wind into the room, Sanji turned his head to look towards the marksman and said with a weak smile: "Four days left, you shitty sniper."

"Right." Usopp smiled and walked out into the darkness. First when he was walking down the stairs towards the main deck, he remembered that the material for the Clima Tact and his tools were all down in the storage room, where Chopper wouldn't let anyone enter. The marksman frowned. This could prove to be difficult. If not…

"He won't let you in," Nami said as she looked up from her teacup at Usopp when he walked past her. "We've tried everything." Usopp shrugged and knocked on the door to the storage.

"Chopper? I brought you some tea," he said to the door. There was the faint sound of footsteps from behind the door before it was opened a little bit and Chopper poked his blue nose out into the darkness.

"Tea?" he said with a voice that sounded both tired and confused, and Usopp wondered if the little reindeer had planned to get any sleep at all.

"Yeah, I thought you could need some tea," he said forcing an almost cheery smile as he held out the mug towards Chopper. "But it's not just any kind of tea, you know. It's a magic kind of tea called Eronel, and the one who drinks it will earn a special power, just like when eating a Devil's Fruit but the one drinking it won't lose the ability to swim… If he doesn't already have Devil powers, of course. Do you want to try it?"

"I don't have the time to drink tea," Chopper said, moving to shut the door again.

"Okay, then I'll drink it myself while I tell you about how I fought the swamp monster of Woogie Doogie to get my hands on this very special tea. But maybe you don't have the time to listen to that story either…" Usopp let his voice trail away, keeping his voice low and adding a tone of disappointment for effect. "Maybe I'll go and tell Sanji and Bon Clay the story instead…"

"No, I- I want to hear it…" Chopper said quietly, opening the door a little more while he looked expectantly at Usopp. "But please keep your voice down. He's sleeping."

Usopp winked at Nami as he entered the storage room. The story of the swamp monster of Woogie Doogie and the magic Eronel tea was already in his head, ready to be told. Nami blinked as she looked after Usopp. Taking a sip of her tea, she smiled and leaned back to watch the stars above the ship.

"The swamp monster of Woogie Doogie…" she muttered as she rolled her eyes. "Why didn't I think of that?"

When the door closed behind Usopp, he was suddenly aware of how sticky the air in the room was. There was a feeling of sickness hovering in the room that stuck itself to his very skin. At the far end of the room, a very pale Luffy was lying on the wooden table that had served as an operation table when Chopper had taken out the bullets from Usopp's shoulders and stitched up all Zoro's seventy-three deep wounds. Usopp felt his stomach twist as he watched the captain, and he turned to Chopper, who had walked over to the table to check the Luffy's temperature.

"How's he doing?" he asked, trying not to sound too worried.

"Well…" Chopper looked almost as if he didn't know what to answer. "He's stabile at the moment, but his fever is still high and he gets attacks of hallucinations and he talks in his sleep. Do you know who Shanks is, Usopp?"

Usopp was at first startled by the question. He hadn't thought that there could be anyone who didn't know who Red-Haired Shanks was. But then he remembered that Chopper had lived a very sheltered life in Drum Kingdom, and walked up to the table.

"Well, he's a well-known pirate, who has sailed all over the world. He's also known as Red-Haired Shanks. My father is a sharpshooter in his pirate clan. I think Luffy knew him when he was a kid, and I think I heard that Luffy's straw hat once belonged to Shanks…" Usopp's voice trailed off as he looked at the captain's hat-less head. "He looks weird without the hat, doesn't he?" he asked, looking at Chopper.

The reindeer nodded and pulled the blanket up to the captain's chin. Usopp lifted the mug he was still holding to his lips, but put it down again, as if he had changed his mind. He smiled and reached out to pat Chopper on the shoulder.

"How about that story, now?" he suggested, feeling his mood rise when Chopper returned his smile. "Well, this all happened about a year before I met Luffy, Nami and Zoro. One day, I was out fishing in my little boat when I spotted something by the horizon.

"It was a large clan of pirates, who were heading towards a little island due north of my island. When they came up next to me, I asked them why they were in such a hurry. And the captain – who was a large man with green beard, beady little eyes and black body armor – told me that they had heard of the fantastic power of the Eronel tea, and that they were going to get their hands on this magic drink to get rich. When they took off again, I decided to follow them and see what adventure I could find on that island."

Chopper was looking at Usopp with wide eyes where he was sitting on a long-legged chair next to the table. He had been grinding herbs for medicine, but the beginning of the story had caught his attention, so he was just sitting there with the mortar in front of him. Usopp looked down at the mug in his hand and pretended to hesitate before he took a sip of the still hot liquid. The doctor stared at him, as if he expected the powers to appear at once. But when nothing happened, Usopp continued.

"When I came to the island, I found the pirate ship anchored by the coast, but it was completely deserted, they hadn't even left anyone behind to guard the ship. The island was very beautiful. There were large yellow forests in which amazing birds and other colorful animals were living, and a tall, blue mountain with a pink waterfall.

"In the middle of the island, there was a small village. When I came there, I found out that the pirates had already been there, asking about the Eronel tea. The village elder told me that the source of the island's magic was the water from the pink waterfall, but since a monster had come to live in the Woogie Doogie swamp near the village, where the villagers got their special ingredients for the magic tea, no one could get any tea at all. But I told them that they wouldn't have to worry, because the brave Captain Usopp would free the island from the monster…"

Usopp's story continued for a long time, and as he finished his tale, he found that Chopper had fallen asleep over the table with his head leaning against Luffy's stomach. Putting aside his empty teamug, Usopp took the blanket from around his shoulders and put it over the sleeping doctor before walking over to the box where he kept his tools and his unfinished inventions. He sat down on the floor and started planning out the construction of Nami's new Clima Tact while both Chopper and Luffy slept peacefully. He would ask Chopper for another dose of those pain killers once the doctor woke up, but until then, he had to endure the pain. That wouldn't be a problem for the brave Captain Usopp.

* * *

_Hmm… this chapter ran off and wrote itself… I intended to have things starting to return to normal routines in this chapter, but I have to leave that for the next one, since this turned out getting so long.  
__(Something I'd be happyto know is why the QuickEdit iscreating run-on's... ee; Oh well.)_

_Karaleyn – Ha ha. Thank you so much. I hope you like this chapter._

_Jaelle – I love that song. I just had to include him in the story… But since I don't know how he speaks in the English translation, I unfortunately had to keep him from talking ): _

_Jade Tatsu – Oh, don't you worry. Everything will be fine…Sorry about the cliffhanger, though._

_Magus Black – You are so right, the day couldn't possibly get any better than that._

_FireyKitsune – Yeah, it's fun to add obstacle after obstacle for them to get past. They have very interesting lives. –envyenvyenvy- If I wasn't the one causing all their injuries, I'd also want to kiss their boo boo's away… -cuddles Straw Hat pirates-_


	15. Settling down

**Note:** (-i- means flashback in this chapter...)

* * *

Early the following day, a large ship with a wooden swan at the prow was sighted by the horizon; something that made Bon Clay dance and sing with joy. Standing on the starboard railing, he waited for his ship to glide up next to the Going Merry while he made quite an impressive speech about friendship surviving every obstacle including long distances and death. After that, he took off with his own crew and left the Straw Hat pirates to return to their daily routines.

Later that day, Usopp was sitting on the portside railing by the main deck, a fishing rod in his hands and a bucket on the deck behind him, in which seven emerald-green seasnakes were splashing and coiling around each other. He had been fishing for hours, ever since Sanji had pointed out that they only had enough food to feed them all for one more day, and he hoped that the seasnakes were safe to eat.

It was somewhat a disappointment that Sanji wouldn't have to be forced to cook fresh food during what remained of the five days he had promised Usopp, but the marksman knew better than to complain about the food. Sanji was truly a magician when it came to cooking. He had managed to feed eight people (including Carue the duck) for almost four days on their way to Alabasta with only three large radishes and a barrel of water, and every meal had been delicious. Of course, just like a magician wouldn't be able perform magic without his deck of cards or a magic wand, not even Sanji could cook without ingredients, which was why they had been sailing on empty stomachs for three days after the radishes were all eaten.

Glancing over his shoulder, Usopp wished that someone would join him, or at least come by and talk to him. It was getting very lonesome and boring to sit there all by himself in the silence that hovered over the caravel, waiting for a tug at the line and watching the waves roll by.

"Any luck yet?"

Usopp almost fell into the water when he heard the voice behind him, and he turned around to face the blond cook, who was walking towards him across the deck. Pointing towards the bucket of seasnakes, he reeled in his fishing line to check if the bait was still on the hook or not.

"I don't know if they are poisonous or not," he pointed out as he frowned at the clean hook and reached for the little tin can with bait on the railing next to him.

"Only one way to find out, I guess… I'll cook one of them, and you'll try it. If you die, we'll know that they're poisonous," Sanji said as he shrugged and bent down to take a closer look at the snakes. He looked up, caught the worried look Usopp sent him and tilted his head lightly to the side, looking at the marksman with one curled eyebrow raised.

"I'm kidding! Anyway, these snakes aren't poisonous, we used to cook them on the Baratie when the season was right. They taste almost like chicken."

Sanji grabbed hold of the handle of the bucket and tried lifting it, looking down at the pail with a puzzled expression when it wouldn't move. Usopp already knew that the snakes were heavier than they looked –the first one he caught had almost pulled him off the ship as it struggled to get free - and it took the cook two more attempts before he managed to lift the bucket from the deck. Usopp sighed and put his fishing rod aside. He swung his legs over to the right side of the railing and hopped down onto the deck.

"I'll help you with that. Wouldn't want you to drop it on your feet, now would we?"

Sanji glared at him and seemed to be about to make a comment about the sniper's injuries, but moved his hands on the handle so that Usopp could help carrying the snakes. The marksman's wounded shoulders were protesting violently against the heavy weight, but thanks to Chopper's pain killers, he managed to keep the pain that flashed through his arms somewhat under control. At least he didn't have to watch that stupid float bobbing on the waves anymore.

When they struggled to get up the stairs towards the kitchen, Sanji nodded towards the prow.

"He hasn't moved since after lunch, has he?" he said with a voice that was almost a little bit too calm. "Do you think he's dead?"

Usopp followed the cook's gaze and noticed the two figures by the prow; one sitting slouched against the railing, clearly fast asleep and the other perched on top of the figure-head. He smiled and tried to get a better grip around the handle of the bucket.

"Zoro or Luffy?" he asked, glancing at Sanji. The cook gave a light chuckle.

"Good point. Hang on, I'll open the door…"

When Sanji let go of the handle, leaving the marksman to hold the heavy bucket with his aching arms, Usopp had to let the pail drop to the deck. The bucket landed with a loud bang and wobbled around for a moment before coming to a stop. The snakes in it were hardly moving anymore.

Looking towards the prow again, Usopp wondered how many hours had passed something the captain had recovered from his fever. Just before lunch, Luffy had walked out from the storage room, demanding food. It had been a great relief for everyone to see him awake, but he hadn't been – and still wasn't – the same Luffy as before. That pale, quiet shell of a man who slowly had eaten the food Sanji put in front of him and then made his way to the prow to climb up on the figure-head hadn't been the real Luffy.

Usopp hoped that the captain would snap out of the daze he had slipped into. Like at the moment when Zoro had told him that they weren't going back to Alabasta. For a second or two, the real Luffy had broken through the lingering fogs of his sickness before punching Zoro straight in the face.

"Hey, are you going to help me or what?" Sanji asked impatiently, knocking his index finger against the marksman's right temple.

Usopp snapped out of his thoughts and bent down to lift the bucket from the deck. Together, Sanji and Usopp managed to get the snakes into the lounge. Usopp's arms were shaking as he finally was allowed to put the heavy bucket down on the floor next to the counter in the kitchen area, and when he turned to rub his throbbing right shoulder, he noticed that the wound was bleeding again, leaving a growing red blossom on the thick bandages covering it. Putting his hand over the wound, he turned to walk towards the door.

"I think I'll go and see if I can catch some more snakes then…" he said, wondering if Chopper would be angry with him for making his wounds bleed again. That doctor could be very intimidating once he got started talking about all the things that could happen if an injury didn't get to rest and heal properly.

Sanji just waved dismissively from where he was standing by the counter with a slim knife in his hand, swiftly preparing the seasnakes to be cooked. Closing the door behind him, Usopp sighed as he looked down at the bloodstained bandages around his shoulder. It wasn't hurting as much now that he wasn't carrying anything heavy, and he reckoned that he could catch at least one more snake before dinner. After all, he was Usopp, the King of fishermen.

- e – e-

When the door closed behind Usopp, Sanji smirked. His hands moved on their own across the cutting board in front of him, the slim knife removing the snake's head and skin without damaging a single glistening scale. When he thought about it, Sanji didn't have any reason to even speak to Usopp in a friendly or even polite manner. What the sniper had done back in the Marine base was unforgivable, even if the women he had hit were Marines who had been trying to kill him. Sanji hadn't been so occupied with the Marine soldiers clinging to his legs that he hadn't seen the woman point her pistol at Usopp's head. But he wouldn't get away with it. Oh no. Usopp didn't know about the extra rations of mushrooms Sanji had found when going through the cabinets after getting back to the ship the previous day. And Sanji had only promised not to cook food that was about to go bad – there had never been an agreement of what kind of food he would cook instead.

Opening one of the cupboards, Sanji jumped back just in time to avoid getting buried under a large pile of bowls of different materials. He groaned as he started picking up all the items that had scattered all over the floor. The Marines – or perhaps it was Bon Clay, he wasn't quite sure about that possibility, even though the okama had looked pretty damn guilty when Sanji found some of his precious knives in the fridge – had made such a mess in his kitchen that it was impossible to find anything in the room. It seemed like they had been planning to use the caravel as extra storage for supplies or something like that, because he had found a stash of weapons and small barrels of gunpowder hidden under the sink, and Nami had said that all of the treasure chests that had been in her room were gone.

Of course, he had found some food that hadn't been there the last time he had gone through their inventory – rice, beans, dried fruit and also some bottles of strong sake – but most of that food had already been eaten soon after they had left the Marine base. Sanji had to admit that he hadn't bothered to think of putting a limit to how much the others had eaten. After what they had gone through, he hadn't been able to deny them the pleasure of eating until their stomachs were about to burst. Hell, he had been stuffing himself as well, almost to the point where he couldn't move.

Now where could his frying pans have been hidden? Sanji frowned as he looked through all the cabinets in the kitchen area, flinching every time something fell down from the disorganized shelves and getting more and more frustrated for every time he opened one of the doors. Clenching his teeth, he had to turn away from the kitchen to keep himself from ramming one of his throbbing feet into the wall or one of the counters.

He could handle the pain it would cause him, but there would be consequences that weren't physical. Chopper would scold him for making the injuries worse, Usopp would scold him because he would have to fix whatever was broken and Luffy would be angry because Sanji was destroying the Going Merry. No, he would keep the promise he had made to Chopper and avoid kicking anything or anyone for at least a week, even if it meant that he would have to come up with another way to keep Luffy out of the kitchen for that long.

Then again, he hadn't seen the captain move at all since after lunch. To find the rubber-man rummaging through the pantry would actually at first be a relieving sign that things were going back to normal – then he would do anything in his power to get the food-thief out of his kitchen.

_Wait a minute…_He thought to himself._ The pantry…_

Sanji walked up to the large wooden door to the pantry and opened it, groaning tiredly as he stared at the shelf in front of his eyes, on which his frying pans and sauce pans were crammed in between half-empty jars of spices. Getting his kitchen in order was definitely going to take a while.

- e – e-

Nami was sitting by the table inside the lounge with a quill in her hand and some maps of the area and a half-finished letter in front of her. She was watching Sanji move around in the kitchen, feeling a drowsy cloudiness slowly spread inside her. Putting down her quill and moving the bottle of ink to the side, she leaned her head in her hands and stared at the letter on the table in front of her under heavy eyelids. Even the sharp noise of things falling from the kitchen was strangely comforting and almost soothing in the hazy cloud surrounding her.

She leaned forward over the table with her head resting on her arms, her eyes closed as she could hear Sanji mutter something from the kitchen area. Her leg and shoulder weren't hurting as bad anymore. Earlier that morning when she woke up, she almost hadn't been able to move her leg because of the sharp pain rushing up through the entire left half of her body every time she even thought of moving. As soon as he had awakened, Chopper had made some kind of new medicine that actually made the pain fade away and almost disappear completely.

But now the pain was slowly returning, and this horrible feeling of being surrounded by clouds that made everything sound and feel distant was taking over, pushing her to sleep. She knew that she shouldn't be sleeping. What if there was a storm, or even worse – a cyclone? If she wasn't awake to sense it, anything could happen to the ship and the crew.

"Nami-san? Are you feeling alright? Can I get you something?"

Nami blinked as she looked up, surprised to see Sanji sitting on the other side of the table, a newly lit cigarette in the corner of his mouth and his bare, bandaged feet resting on the bench next to him. She hadn't even noticed that the sounds of the cook moving around in the kitchen had stopped. Smiling tiredly, she stretched out her arms over the table and glanced at the log post strapped to her wrist.

"No thanks, Sanji-kun…" she said softly, leaning her head against the table again and closing her eyes. "But if you would be kind and turn the tiller a little bit to the starboard side, I'd be really happy."

"Anything for you, Nami-san," Sanji said with a smile in his voice. Nami could hear him get up from the table and felt the faint movement as the ship slowly turned in the right direction. Once again, she glanced at the log post and noted that they were heading straight for the next island.

Curling up by the table, she vaguely felt the sharp smell of something burning, but didn't open her eyes. She could hear footsteps coming towards her, and she winced lightly as she felt the warm weight of silky cloth being draped over her shoulders. The smell of cigarette-smoke filled her nostrils as she moved her hands from the table to wrap the black jacket around herself. She had actually missed that smell during their time in the prison, just as much as she had missed everything else about the ship and her friends. Listening to the soft humming of the cook as he made his way towards whatever was on fire in the kitchen, Nami finally allowed herself to take a break.

- e – e-

Zoro hadn't planned to wake up again until at least later that week, but as yet another wave crashed into the prow of the ship and a cascade of icy cold water was thrown over him and caused the skin on his bare chest to prickle, the swordsman decided that it was time to find another place to continue sleeping at. The saltwater seeped into his healing wounds through the already soaking wet bandages around his arms, chest, legs and head, causing a very uncomfortable burning sensation in his whole body. Slowly sitting up to keep the stitches all over his body from breaking, the swordsman rubbed his eyes sleepily before looking around over the deck.

Luffy was sitting on the figure-head to Zoro's left, staring blankly out over the water. When Zoro moved, the captain turned his head and glared at him, his eyes widening and revealing quite the amount of fury behind what remained of the feverish mists that still lingered about him. Zoro looked at the man, meeting that furious glare without flinching, the ghost of a punch still lingering on his jaw. When the captain turned away again, Zoro had to force himself not to say anything at all. He wasn't that eager to get punched again, there was no guarantee that Luffy wouldn't use one of his Gomu Gomu-attacks this time.

What had happened was simply that Luffy walked out from the storage room below the kitchen by noon that day, demanded meat and told Nami to make the boat go to Alabasta so that they could pick up Vivi and make her one of them. Zoro had been unanimously elected by the rest of the crew to be the one to tell the captain the bad news - that they couldn't go back to Alabasta. Being the so-called first mate had its downsides.

-i-

_The captain was standing by the figure-head, leaning against the railing with his shoulders raised and his eyes towards the water below. His voice was dull and quiet when he spoke, but Zoro could hear him perfectly well._

"_We have to go to Alabasta to get Vivi. She's our nakama, and I want her to go with us."_

"_Luffy…" Zoro sighed. There was no use in wrapping it up in silk. "We're not going back to Alabasta."_

_At first, Zoro thought that Luffy hadn't heard him, but then the black-haired man straightened his back. The look in the captain's eyes when he slowly turned around to look at Zoro was hurt and doubting. _

"_Yes, we are. Vivi is there and we're going to get her."_

"_Will you just listen to me for once in your life?" Zoro barely kept himself from screaming as he raised his voice, knowing that everyone else was standing on the main deck watching them. "We can't go back there because there are Marines all over the damn island! Do you want to go back to prison, or maybe even get killed?"_

_It would have been so much easier to try to talk some sense into Luffy's head if he hadn't still looked so damn sick with his pale, lifeless skin, his slack posture and those dull, misty eyes._

"_We barely survived escaping this time, and we're not going to risk getting caught again. If you would just…"_

_He didn't see the punch coming. All of a sudden, the mists in Luffy's eyes vanished, and made way for the most furious rage Zoro had ever seen. The next thing he knew, he was thrown backwards by the force of the captain's fist connecting with the right side of his face. He was vaguely aware of the fact that Luffy hadn't powered up the punch with his stretching ability, the only power behind the force that threw him back against the deck was the desperation, frustration and grief the captain was feeling inside. As Zoro landed on the deck and slid over to the railing on the portside, he could hear Usopp running up the stairs towards him, asking if he was alright. He fought to get up from the deck, somewhat aware of that two of his wounds had opened again, and held out his arm to keep Usopp on a safe distance from the captain._

"_You can be angry at me all you want!" he said loudly as he took a step towards the captain, still holding out his arm towards Usopp, who was standing in the stairs behind him. "You can blame me, you can hit me and you can even kill me for telling you that we're not going back, but it won't change a thing."_

_Luffy stood in front of him, his arms hanging powerlessly by his sides, and his eyes had once again been clouded. Silently turning around, he climbed up to his favorite spot on top of the figure-head and sat down, slouching forward over his bent knees with his back turned to his crew. He only climbed down to eat when Sanji called for him, but not even as he was eating did he seem to be even close to his normal self. The meals aboard the Going Merry were usually the noisiest times of the day, but as almost everyone was watching Luffy slowly eat only what was on his plate and then leave the table to climb back to the wooden sheep's head, no one seemed to be in the mood to start a conversation._

-i-

Shaking his head, Zoro got up from the deck and gathered his three swords. While leaning the swords over his left shoulder, he headed down towards the main deck where he passed Usopp, who seemed to have fallen asleep up on the railing with a fishing rod in his hands. The marksman was slowly tipping forward, and Zoro slowed down his pace, watching the long-nosed man warily for a moment before reaching out his hand and grabbing hold around the back of Usopp's neck, pulling him away from the railing. Usopp woke up with a yelp, looking around wildly before he noticed Zoro, who was still holding a firm grip around his neck.

"Wha- what happened?" he asked confusedly, one of his hands moving up towards his neck.

"If you're going to dream about being a great fisherman, then at least do us all the favor of tying yourself to the boat." Zoro said tiredly, letting go of the marksman's neck. Usopp was looking quite shocked as he realized that he could have fallen overboard. He didn't even notice that he had lost his fishing rod.

"Oh… Yeah, okay. I'll remember that. Thanks."

Turning away, Zoro glanced up towards the upper deck by the stern. Sleeping under the mandarin-trees was usually very relaxing, as long as no one caught you eating the fruit. But then he noticed that the upper deck was already occupied by Nico Robin, who was sitting in a beach chair and reading a book. Zoro definitely didn't feel like sleeping next to someone he didn't quite trust yet. He wasn't interested in going up to the lounge, and going back to camp out by the prow was out of the question. Therefore, Zoro headed down into the storage below the lounge, hoping to find it empty and quiet.

As he opened the door to the storage, he was happy to find it quiet, but when he entered the room, his eyes immediately fell on Chopper, who was standing on a chair while scrubbing the wooden table they had used as an operation table earlier. The room was a mess; dried blood and various instruments and rolls of bandage covering the floor around the table and wooden splinters from broken crates and barrels all over the room. It seemed like the little doctor had felt the need to get some of the stress out of his system.

When Zoro closed the door behind him and turned to look for a good place to sleep at, Chopper looked up at the approaching swordsman with wide eyes.

"Did something happen?" he asked carefully. "Does anyone need a doctor?"

Zoro watched the doctor for a moment, taking note of the reindeer's fast, shallow breaths and the light trembling of his hooves once he came up next to the table. Then he shook his head, leaned his swords against the wall to his left and reached out his hand towards Chopper.

"No, you can calm down. Everyone is fine. Do you need help with that?"

The reindeer looked at him for a moment, and then reached out the bloodstained rag he was holding between his hooves. Zoro took it and looked around until he found the bucket of water standing on a chair across the table. As he dipped the rag in the rust-colored water, he could see Chopper jump down from his chair in the corner of his eye and turned his head towards the doctor, who was slowly picking up the scalpels and other instruments from the floor. Sighing quietly, Zoro started scrubbing the bloodstained table, feeling his body urging him to sleep, reminding him that he hadn't gone down there to clean up the mess – even if he had helped causing some of it when Chopper stitched up his cuts. Then he heard Chopper mutter something and looked up.

"What? Did you say something?"

The reindeer jerked his head up, seemingly surprised to find that he had spoken out loud. He shook his head at first, but then he looked down at the dirty instruments in his arms, tears welling up in his eyes. Zoro caught himself hoping that Chopper wouldn't start crying, because he wasn't sure what to do if that happened.

"I wish we could go back to Alabasta…" he said quietly, walking over to a wooden box where he put down the instruments that needed to be washed. "Vivi said that the doctors in Albana had some great medicines that I could learn about. If I only had learnt more, then I could have cured Luffy immediately. But I'm not good enough yet."

Tugging at the bandages wrapped around his round body, he sniffled, suddenly looking like a helpless child. Zoro stopped cleaning the table and turned towards Chopper, not exactly sure what he was going to say. Chopper spoke up in his place, his eyes locked on a spot on the floor somewhere between him and Zoro.

"When we were in the prison cell and Luffy's fever was rising because I put the wrong ingredient in his medicine, all I could think of was 'He needs a doctor'. _I_ am the doctor! And I could have killed him because I wasn't paying attention to what I put in the medicine. And still…" His voice broke as he sobbed loudly. "And still, he looked at me and smiled as he said that I've always his nakama."

Zoro shook his head as he wished that Chopper would stop talking so damn incoherently. It was hard enough to understand what the doctor was saying since he was speaking so fast and quietly, without having to decipher the meaning behind the words as well. Dropping the rag in a rust-colored puddle on the table, Zoro was convinced that Luffy had no idea that Chopper could have killed him with medicine. Hell, Zoro wouldn't have guessed that something that was supposed to cure also could be lethal.

Medicine seemed to be almost like a double-edged sword – if used in the right way and treated with outmost care and respect, it could be a powerful ally, but if disrespected, it could cause its wielder and everyone around him a lot of damage. Zoro crossed his arms over his chest mostly because he didn't know what else to do with them. Maybe if he just listened to what Chopper needed to get off his chest, the reindeer would feel better and maybe be able to do something about the salt that still burned in Zoro's wounds. Then Zoro could find some place where he could sleep in peace without being stepped on or tripped over.

"How is Luffy doing?" Chopper suddenly asked, looking up at Zoro.

Zoro blinked as the question was directed towards him. At first, it took a few seconds for the question to sink through the wall of 'intensive listening' he had built up around him. Then he nodded towards the door to the main deck.

"Well, he's still mad at me because I told him that we couldn't go back to Alabasta. I think he's mostly upset because he lost his hat, but other than that, I think he's recovering."

Chopper made a sigh of relief and felt his body relaxing as he reached down to pick up another roll of bandages from the floor. The last medicine he had made earlier that morning had made the captain's fever go down, but Chopper had still been worrying himself sick when the fog in Luffy's eyes didn't lift like he would have expected it to.

"Good. I'll make some more medicine for him after dinner."

Shrugging stiffly, Zoro scratched at the bandages wrapped around his lower arm before going back to cleaning the operation table. He wasn't feeling tired anymore and getting to move his stiff body was great, even if it wasn't a real work-out. Stiff muscles were awakened by the new movement and he could feel his energy return. Slowly, the wooden surface appeared from under the dried blood on one half of the table, and Zoro moved to start cleaning the second half while he listened to the reindeer moving around in the room, washing his instruments and sweeping the wooden splinters off the floor.

Suddenly, Chopper cried out and rushed over to the table. Zoro flinched as the reindeer jumped up on the table and grabbed hold of the swordsman's left arm. When he looked down at his arm, he noticed that the bandages were soaked in blood from his elbow down to his wrist. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered when the wounds could have opened since he hadn't felt any pain. He was about to protest and tell Chopper that he was fine, but the reindeer took the blood-stained rag from Zoro's hand and threw it into the bucket of water, muttering occasional curses over the stubborn swordsman who couldn't let his injuries rest for even one day. Then he started to remove the bandages around Zoro's arm while he muttered more curses – this time aimed at himself for allowing Zoro to help him – under his breath.

Standing perfectly still, Zoro watched the doctor swiftly remove the blood-soaked bandages from his arm, revealing the three long, bleeding gashes underneath. When he was done, Chopper jumped down from the table and hurried over to a wooden box by the wall to fetch a bottle of disinfectants, some cotton, a sterile needle and thread and more rolls of bandages from his seemingly endless supplies. Returning to the table, he climbed up onto the wooden board and tugged at Zoro's arm to make him move closer while he drenched a piece of cotton in the disinfectant liquid.

"This will sting a little…" the doctor said, mostly by habit. Zoro nodded lightly, trying not to sound too harsh when he spoke.

"I don't care. Just stitch it up."

The stinging feeling in the wounds as Chopper cleaned them and removed the old stitches was oddly refreshing. But when the doctor prepared the thin needle and thread to patch up the clean wounds, Zoro shifted his weight from one foot to the other, bracing himself against the pain he knew would come. It wasn't as bad as when he had had Johnny and Usopp assist him while stitching up the cut across his chest on their way to Arlong Park; Chopper used a considerably smaller needle, and it had to be hell of a lot easier to make it neat and clean when your vision wasn't clouded by the throbbing pain across your upper body. Even if he didn't need any anesthetics for the pain, Zoro couldn't keep himself from closing his eyes and clenching his jaw as the needle went through his skin.

Twenty-three stitches later, Chopper tied a knot to the thread and cut it off. Zoro felt his body relaxing when the pain faded away and tried opening and closing his fist a few times, watching the scarred skin on his lower arm stretch and relax with the movement. Chopper reached out for his arm, taped a folded piece of gauze bandage over the newly mended wound and started to wrap it in white cloth. When he was finished, he looked thoughtful for a moment as he looked at the bandages covering the swordsman's upper body.

"Maybe I should change the other bandages as well," he said thoughtfully, hopping down from the table and getting a chair to stand on. "Sit down, it won't take long."

Since he wasn't interested in getting into a discussion about the importance of keeping healing wounds clean, Zoro obeyed and pulled up a chair to sit down while Chopper started to remove the thick layers of white cloth from his chest and arms. Then he heard someone calling his name outside the storage and looked up. He knew that voice, and he didn't like the way the cook was using his name. Groaning, he moved his head to the side just in time to avoid getting one of the prongs of Chopper's right antler jammed into his eye. Chopper glanced apologetically at the swordsman, and returned to cleaning the many healing cuts on his chest.

The door to the storage was opened and Sanji stepped in, the sleeves of his pin-striped blue shirt rolled up over his elbows. When his eyes fell on Zoro and Chopper, he gave a light nod, a smile playing across his lips.

"Ah, there you are, Zoro. When you're done getting patched up again, bring the table to the stern, will ya?"

"What's wrong with the table upstairs?" Zoro growled. He had nothing against carrying the table up on deck, but he wasn't going to give in to Sanji's demands just like that. Sanji turned around while glancing over his shoulder, making Zoro realize that the cook was going to use his ultimate weapon.

"Nami-san is sleeping by the table in the lounge, so we need that table." He pointed in the direction of the still bloodstained table behind Zoro and Chopper. "Get the table and the chairs to the stern or there will be no dinner for you."

Zoro growled again, glaring at the cook as the blond man walked away again. Chopper stopped wrapping Zoro's chest in bandages and looked up at Sanji.

"But the table isn't clean yet!" he squeaked, waving one hoof in the air.

Sanji raised one of his hands, waving it lightly in the air to point out that it wasn't his problem and walked out from the storage room. Zoro shook his head tiredly and held up his right arm so that Chopper could change the bandages around it once he finished wrapping the swordsman's chest in white cloth.

The cook could think that his threat about no food was what made Zoro do as he was told, it was just as well. There was no need for Sanji to know that even if he would let Zoro starve, the swordsman could always ask Luffy to share some of his stolen nightly snacks. Of course, if he was going to be able to do that in the future, Luffy would have to stop being angry with him. It wasn't like Luffy to bear a grudge for this long; no matter how upset or angry he was, he usually calmed down when getting the situation explained to him or after a big fist-fight.

"There, all done." Chopper said happily, fastening the last piece of bandage around Zoro's arm. He glanced up at Zoro's face and frowned. "Wait, let me take a look at your head…"

"No, my head is fine, Chopper. Thanks." Zoro said swiftly, moving his hand to touch the bandages wrapped around his head. He gently pushed the doctor away from him and got up from his chair, turning towards the bloodstained table. As he lifted the large table from the floor, he met the disapproving gaze in Chopper's eyes and shrugged.

"You heard the cook. I'm hungry."

It was hard not to smile when Chopper sighed in defeat and slid down from his chair onto the floor. The little reindeer shook his head and folded his arms as he walked past Zoro under the table to continue cleaning up in the room.

"Fine, do as you please. But I'm not going to stitch up any of your cuts again, Zoro."

"Yes, you will…" Zoro said quietly, not referring to the cuts already on his body, but to the injuries that would be done to him in the future. Then his gaze softened, and he started walking towards the door, the puzzling thought of how to get the table through the door about to reach the surface of his mind. He turned around just before he reached the door, knowing that he had to say something to the doctor.

"Hey, Chopper. For what it's worth… We're all proud to have you as our doctor."

Turning back to open the door, Zoro shook his head as Chopper started yelling obscenities at him between fits of giggles and denials of being a good doctor. Opening the door, the swordsman noticed that he could just barely fit the table through the doorway if he pushed it in front of him. There was no sound coming from the deck, but from his position, Zoro could see that Luffy was still sitting up on the figure-head. Sighing, he pushed the table through the doorway, picked it up and walked towards the prow. The crew would never get back to their routines if Luffy didn't go back to normal, so something had to be done.

* * *

_I have to cut there becausethe chapterisgetting far too long now. (Hmm... I think I made Zoro a bit OOC there. Sorry for that.) __Ican't believe how long this turned out to be. From the beginning, what have become the chapters 14, 15 and 16 was supposed to be one long chapter. It was originally 13 handwritten pages, but then I started adding a little more details and new events to the story during my all-nighters and the text just started flowing over the pages. _

_Anyway, I should stop ranting now and get on with the next chapter, ne? _

_Magus Black – You're right. I'd love to switch lives with them. Maybe I wouldn't live that long, but I'd go down knowing that I had fun while it lasted. And living in the Oda-universe would mean that I'd be able to withstand major damage and still be able to walk away afterwards. Whoo!_

_FieryKitsune – I couldn't help but laugh at the part you mentioned about those macho men covering up their injuries. I actually know a few guys who would act just like that. And I do know several guys who can ask to be put out of their misery once they get a measly cold. It's interesting, really._


	16. Awakening

On his favorite spot on the whole ship, the wooden sheep's head at the prow, Luffy sat cross-legged and stared down at the water below. Idly playing with a small piece of wood he had found earlier, he watched a school of seasnakes ride on the swirling waves close to the ship's prow without much interest. He was feeling a lot better than before, and he had almost completely forgotten what it felt like to be sick. The only thing about him that wasn't good was the gnawing feeling in his stomach as it demanded food. Luffy hoped that Sanji would have dinner ready soon; he had missed at least eighteen meals because he had been sick, and he had to catch up with that as soon as possible. Patting his bandaged stomach and feeling the wound beneath the cloth give a light throb for each pat, he thought of trying something he remembered that Usopp had called te-le-pa-ty. Apparently, it would allow him to tell Sanji to hurry up with the food without having to walk all the way to the kitchen. But he couldn't remember what Usopp had said when he explained how to perform the te-le-pa-ty, and decided to wait until he could ask his marksman to explain it to him again.

The afternoon sun was starting to burn his bare shoulders, and he wondered where his vest could have disappeared to as he rubbed the back of his neck. Thinking back, he thought he remembered Usopp telling him about clothes that just one day decided to go out on adventures, and he hoped that his vest would return from its adventure soon... And bring his hat with it.

Grasping at his black hair as a gust of wind rushed past him, Luffy was once again painfully reminded of his lost hat. He shut his eyes firmly as Shanks' face appeared in his mind, and he could hear the pirate's voice in his head, telling him to return the hat once he became the King of Pirates. Clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white, he was jerked from the depressing thoughts by the sharp stinging pain in his palm when the small piece of wood he was holding pierced through the skin in his hand. Staring down at his aching hand, he didn't ease the pressure against the splinter, but slammed his fist into the side of the figure-head. The thought of having lost his most prized possession was unbearable, but the thought of having failed to fulfill the promise he had made to Shanks was even worse.

He couldn't quite understand a feeling that rushed over him from time to time. Frowning, he thought about it. It wasn't hunger - that feeling belonged in his stomach; it wasn't happiness, because he wasn't feeling happy at all; it wasn't worry and he definitely wasn't sleepy. Then the memory of Zoro telling him that they weren't returning to get Vivi came to his mind, and the strange feeling flared up again.

He knew that punching Zoro for telling him that they wouldn't go back to Alabasta hadn't been fair, but he also knew that if anyone would understand not to take such a thing personally, that would be Zoro. Because Zoro was Zoro, and Zoro understood such things. Still, he hadn't been able to keep himself from blaming his swordsman for everything that was bothering him at the moment when all his frustration and grief of leaving his nakama behind was transformed into pure desperation and helplessness.

Luffy didn't like to feel helpless. Being helpless led to having other people fight for you, and if someone else was fighting your battles, that meant that if they were hurt or even killed, it wasn't only _for_ you, but _because_ of you and your helplessness. Luffy wouldn't let anyone else lose an arm because he was helpless.

Slowly opening the hand in which he held the small, pointy piece of wood, he looked at the small wound in his palm and the blood covering the wooden splinter. His eyes narrowing, he held out his hands over the water below and dropped the bloody piece of wood – a simple sacrifice – into the waves. The ocean could have his blood, but it would never take his nakama as long as he still hade one breath of air in his lungs.

He could hear the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs behind him, and turned around just in time to see Zoro put down a large table on the deck. The swordsman looked up, his eyes meeting Luffy's. He walked up to the prow where he leaned against the railing and looked out over the ocean ahead of them.

"Dinner should be ready soon," he said indifferently, as if he didn't have anything else to say.

Luffy watched the green-haired man carefully, feeling the black hole in his stomach howl for food. He nodded and leaned forward, his elbows resting against his crossed legs. Food would make him feel so much better. He could feel Zoro look at him, and turned his head towards the swordsman.

"You're not mad at me anymore," Zoro stated, raising an eyebrow in a gesture of feigned doubt. Still, he looked like he was prepared to dodge an eventual punch. Luffy smiled faintly, feeling that the swordsman was right. He wasn't feeling angry at all. It was like the ocean had taken all his anger when it received his blood.

"No," Luffy's hand moved to his head out of habit as a strong wind blew past him. When he remembered that there was no hat that could be swept off his head, he let his hand fall back to his lap. "No, not anymore. Alabasta is too far away now, isn't it?"

"I guess so."

It was a calmly stated answer, but in the corner of his eye, Luffy could see Zoro shake his head lightly in a more sincere reply. The captain grinned for the first time that day, and started to get up from his sitting position on the figure-head, a tingly feeling rushing through the sleeping muscles in his legs when he moved. No, Alabasta wasn't too far away. Vivi was always with them, no matter how far away from Alabasta the caravel ever headed. Because they were nakama, and that would never change.

Making sure that he had a firm grip on the surface of the sheep's head with his toes, Luffy stood up on the figure-head, his eyes aimed at the clouds above the ship. Still grinning, he took a deep breath and raised his arms towards the sky. He could feel his spirit rising again and as he thought of all the adventure that lay before him, the sadness of having to leave Vivi behind vanished from his mind.

"I'm gonna be the King of Pirates!" he shouted, and turning around towards the rest of the ship, he added in the same breath: "Sanji! I'm hungry!"

Behind Luffy, Zoro started to laugh at the captain, feeling so relieved that his friend wasn't trapped inside the mists of his fever anymore and didn't bother to put up his usual cold façade. Luffy looked down at Zoro with his arms still raised above his head, blinked and joined in the laughter without really knowing why he was laughing. Down on the main deck, Usopp turned his eyes from the new fishing rod he was making and looked up towards the prow, smiling happily when his mind registered that Luffy was back to normal again. The door to the storage was opened and Chopper poked his head out from the room, at first wondering if the scream he had heard meant that someone needed medical attention. Then he also noticed Luffy standing on the figure-head and he took a few bouncing steps out on the main deck, giggling cheerfully. Above the doctor's head, the door to the lounge was opened and Sanji appeared, carrying large covered trays with food in both hands and on top of his head. He glared at the captain, who was still standing on the figure-head with his arms raised towards the sky, but couldn't quite keep the smile off his face.

"Do you have to be so noisy? Dinner _is_ ready!" he snapped, carefully shutting the door behind him with his foot. Then he turned his glare towards the green-haired swordsman, who was standing next to the figure-head. "Hey, shithead, didn't I tell you to set the table at the_ stern_? And you still haven't brought the chairs!"

"Get them yourself!" Zoro yelled back. "I'm not your damn slave!"

But then he sighed and walked towards the stairs to the main deck, smiling lightly as he heard Luffy start to chant something about meat from on top of the figure-head. Walking down the stairs and over the main deck, Zoro headed back into the storage to see if he could find the extra chairs and something to cover the bloodstained surface of the table.

Sanji also made his way down to the main deck, balancing the trays with great expertise as the boat was rocked by a large wave crashing into the starboard side. He bowed lightly and smiled happily when Robin complimented on how wonderful the food smelled as she walked down the stairs behind him.

"Dinner will be served as soon as the table is set, Robin-chan," he said softly, making a sweeping gesture with his left arm towards the prow as he let her walk down the stairs before him. "If you would do me the honor of trying my newest dish, my undying love and gratitude will forever be devoted to you…"

There was a loud crash coming from the storage below and everyone turned their attention towards the open door, from which a thin mist of dust was rolling out over the deck. A moment later, Zoro emerged from the storage, balancing two piles of chairs stacked on top of each other in his hands. Draped over one of his shoulders was one of the spare sails. The swordsman looked around over the deck until he spotted Usopp. Nodding towards the marksman, he

"You may want to check on your workshop, Usopp," he said calmly, nodding his head in the direction of the storage. "If you can find it under all the barrels…"

Making a horrified face, Usopp jumped to his feet and hurried over to the storage where he gave up an equally horrified scream. The next thing anyone knew, he stormed out from the storage room, cursing at Zoro for burying his precious tools under at least a ton of barrels. Zoro watched the furious marksman march past him towards the prow with his eyebrows raised. Sanji groaned where he was standing in the middle of the stairs. Looking down at Zoro, he smirked teasingly.

"There he is, the only person who can successfully create a landslide in a storage room where everything is securely tied down."

Zoro glared at Sanji as he passed by the stairs, almost tripping over Chopper as the little doctor pattered around his feet, trying to make sure that the swordsman hadn't been injured in any way. Sanji just raised an eyebrow and kept on smirking as he walked down the rest of the stairs and followed Chopper and Zoro up towards the prow.

At first, Sanji raised his leg to defend the food from Luffy out of pure reflex, but then his mind registered that the captain actually had made a leap for the covered tray in his right hand. Then he put a little bit more force behind the kick than he first had intended. The side of his bare left foot hit Luffy straight in the face, and the seventeen-year-old was thrown back against the deck. As Sanji waited for Zoro to cover the table with the sail and put out the chairs, he put his foot back on the floor and watched the captain get up from the deck. Luffy brushed some dust off his blue shorts while grinning widely as if nothing had happened and grabbed one of the chairs to sit down by the table. Sitting cross-legged on the chair, he watched Zoro place out the chairs with great interest and laughed as Usopp started arguing with the swordsman about his crushed workshop.

"So you finally woke up?" Sanji commented, adding a quick "Never mind" when the captain looked up at him with confusion written all over his face, pointing out that he had already been awake for a long time.

Once Zoro finished placing out the chairs, Sanji had already started putting down the bowls and plates on the table while he kept an eye on Luffy. But the captain didn't try to get to the food a second time. Instead, he had moved his chair to sit next to Zoro by the head of the table and was trying to make the swordsman tell him how they got out from the Marine base. The swordsman refused and advised Luffy to ask Usopp instead, in hope of getting rid of the noisy captain. From his place to Zoro's right, Usopp swiftly agreed to tell Luffy the whole story after dinner. However, that didn't stop Luffy from continuously ask Zoro to tell him about the adventure he had missed out on, causing Zoro to look more and more annoyed as time passed.

The swordsman looked like he was trying to determine if decapitating the rubber pirate with a table knife was possible when Sanji finally declared that dinner was served and pointed out the larger bowl in which he had put Luffy's food. Laughing happily, Luffy called out "Let's eat!" and grabbed the large bowl of strange looking meat in front of him. For a moment, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Chopper just watched their captain eat at his usual speed, happy to see him back to normal again. Then they realized that they would have to be quick if they were going to manage to get some food before it was all gone and started to fill their plates. Sanji was offering Robin a specially prepared plate when Luffy stopped inhaling his food long enough to look around the table.

"Where's Nami?" he asked, his eyes dropping to his plate again.

"She's sleeping," Chopper and Sanji said in unison. They glanced at each other and continued, still in unison:

"Nami-san said that she wasn't feeling too well, so…"

"She had sustained severe damage to the muscles in her left foot and leg, so I made medicine that…"

Luffy watched the doctor and the cook, clearly confused as he tried to listen to both explanations at the same time.

"She's sleeping to get better," Zoro translated and reached over the table to get more rice.

"Oh."

Luffy nodded once and continued eating, causing half of Usopp and Zoro's meals to vanish in the process. By the time Usopp and Zoro noticed that their food was gone, Luffy had already left the table. The captain jumped over the rail to the main deck, shouting "It was delicious!" as he ran across the deck towards the lounge. A slight argument followed as Zoro and Usopp both reached for the same bowl of fried seasnake at the same time to fill their plates again. Sanji just sighed and sat down by the table next to Luffy's empty seat, the thought of the mushroom stew he had prepared for the next day keeping most of his irritation towards the marksman at bay. He was so used to being annoyed with Zoro, so he didn't pay that feeling a second thought as he ducked to avoid a bowl of rice that was thrown across the deck. It was the thought of food going to waste that made him angry.

"Clean that up," he ordered, his glare aimed at Zoro, who shrugged as he held the bowl of seasnake meat as far away from Usopp as possible. The marksman was on the edge of his seat, trying to get Zoro to hand over the food while obviously trying to keep himself from laughing about the whole situation.

"Why bother?" Zoro asked. "When Luffy comes back, he'll take care of it."

Sanji sighed once more, raised his hands in defeat and reached for some rice and vegetables. Zoro had a point; no food was ever wasted when Luffy was around. To his right, Chopper was watching the feuding swordsman and sniper with wide eyes. He didn't seem to be completely sure if they were just fooling around or if the fight was real.

Across the table from Sanji, Robin smiled softly as she looked at the fighting boys. The pirate clan she had joined was really noisy at times, but the crew sure did have a certain charm. Even if they did show affection towards one another in their own ways, it was clear that the captain was the glue that ultimately kept them all together – the way their spirits had risen since the captain had awakened was proof for that. It was a very good clan.

- e - e -

When Nami woke up, she couldn't understand why the feeling of being back in Cocoyashi Village still lingered in her mind, even after she had stopped dreaming. Slowly lifting her head from the table, her shoulders aching from the uncomfortable position she had been sleeping in, she blinked as the first thing she saw was a pair of bare ankles crossed over the table in front of her. Her mind suddenly registered the sweet scent of mandarins and she closed her eyes.

"Luffy… You're not eating one of my mandarins, are you?"

"Mmmm…. No," came the cheerful reply, the captain's voice literally dripping with mandarin-juice. "Are you better now?"

"What?" Nami frowned and looked up at Luffy, who was sitting cross-legged on the table, surrounded by wrinkled maps and a small mound of mandarin peel to his right. Not only was he eating one of her mandarins; he had been eating at least ten while she was still sleeping, and there was still one fruit lying on the table in front of him.

"Zoro, Sanji and Chopper said that you were sleeping to get better." Luffy explained while peeling the last mandarin he had brought with him. "So are you better now?"

Groaning silently, Nami buried her head in her folded arms over the table. She was too tired to deal with Luffy's logic, even if she was very relieved to see him act like himself again. There was a numb feeling in her entire body, except for the dull, pulsating pain in her left leg and her right shoulder. Chopper was definitely going to get some feed-back about his new medicine, and somehow, Nami had the feeling that the doctor wasn't going to dance with joy when she got to give him a piece of her mind.

"Yeah, I'm all better now," she said, trying to keep her voice calm as she sat up straight. Leaning her elbows against the table, she pulled the letter she had been working on earlier towards her and reached for her quill and bottle of ink to continue writing. She could feel Luffy's eyes on her as she opened the bottle of ink and dipped the quill in the liquid.

"I'm writing a letter to Vivi," she said without looking up. "We can't go back to Alabasta, but we still have to let her know that we're safe. She's probably worried about us, don't you think?"

"Write that she has to come and go with us," Luffy said seriously, leaning forward to look at the letter upside-down. "Write that."

"I can't write that, Luffy," Nami looked up at the captain's serious face, feeling sorry to have to tell him the truth. She tried to choose her words carefully when she continued. "We can't force her to come with us. As a princess, she has a very important place in Alabasta and if she wants to stay there and see the country get rebuilt, then we should be happy for her."

Luffy looked at Nami and at the letter, not bothering – or maybe just unable – to conceal his disappointment as he understood what Nami was saying. Then his eyes brightened, and he tapped at the upper corner of the letter with his index finger.

"Then write that she'll always be our nakama," he ordered, tapping at the letter again for every syllable in his favorite word. Nami smiled and nodded, glad that Luffy was taking the issue so lightly. The memory of the captain punching Zoro earlier was still fresh.

"I'll write that, then," she said, letting the quill move over the paper. Luffy silently watched her writing, and when she took the quill from the paper, he looked very pleased.

"Read the letter to me," he asked, leaning back with his hands clasped around his crossed ankles.

Through the open door, the sounds of Sanji's and Zoro's angry voices shouting insults as they argued over who was going to take care of the dishes and Usopp and Chopper's cackling laughter drifted into the kitchen while Nami read the unfinished letter to the captain. Luffy listened with great interest, and when Nami finished reading, she looked at the raven-haired man in front of her, wondering if he had something more to add. Looking thoughtful for a moment, Luffy's eyes narrowed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Ask her if she found my hat," he said after a while, his hand grasping at his hair.

"I've already mentioned that you've lost the hat, Luffy. I don't think that…"

The pleading look in Luffy's eyes made the words die on her lips, and she sighed in defeat as she added the requested part to the letter. Then she read the newly added sentences to the captain, who made a thumbs-up and grinned widely.

"Perfect."

"Do you want to sign it?" Nami asked as she added a quick goodbye to the end of the letter. She turned the letter towards Luffy and handed the quill to him. Luffy took the pen happily and carefully wrote his name at the end of the letter. Then he gave the letter back to Nami and jumped down from the table.

"Let's get the others to sign it!" he said excitedly and bounced out through the door towards the prow where the rest of the crew was still sitting around the table. Nami scribbled down her own signature and a small note to the left below Luffy's name, put the cork in the bottle of ink and picked up the letter and the quill and got up from the table. She winced as she leaned her weight on her injured leg, but found that her body was still numb from the medicine and it helped to keep most of the pain to reach her conscious mind. On her way out from the lounge, she glanced at her log post and adjusted the tiller to get the ship back on its right course.

Outside, the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. At the prow, Luffy stood on top of the dinner table, calling for Nami to hurry up with the letter so that the others could sign it as well. How he could be so energetic when he had recovered from such a high fever only hours earlier was something Nami couldn't understand. But she smiled and waved for the captain to calm down as she started walking down the stairs towards the main deck.

Everything was finally going back to normal again.

* * *

_Whee! Only one chapter left now... -sniffles- Oh well,I'll just haveto come up with a new plot for a new story._

_FieryKitsune - I don't like needles myself, but I just had to make Zoro show some of his bad-ass attitude that we all love. _

_Magus Black - Oh, that is so true. Why aim to become the best when you can aim to be the second best? I mean, it's not as much pressure to stayin second placeas it is to stay the best._

_AstroKender - I think that chapter 13 was one of the easiest chapters to write, up to the end, which shows in the way I ended it.I'm glad to hear that you liked it._


	17. The letter

It had been another eventful day in Albana. Princess Vivi leaned her back against the door to her chambers as she closed it behind her. After a whole day of standing by her father's side while the King sent messengers to all the cities in Alabasta with news about the rebuilding of the country, she wanted nothing but to get some time to herself. Merely four days had passed since Luffy's battle against Sir Crocodile, and yet so much had happened in this time.

Releasing her long blue hair from the ponytail, she rubbed her neck and walked through the room towards her dressing table. She sat down in front of the large, ornamented mirror, looking at her own reflection and almost flinching as she saw the worried look in her own eyes. No wonder the messengers had looked at her like that. Even when she tried to smile, she still looked like her whole world was about to fall apart. Which, in a way, was true.

Sighing, Vivi leaned her face in her hands. She had expected the numbing feeling of bottomless despair to ease once Alabasta was free from Crocodile's tyranny. But it still wouldn't give in, and she knew exactly why it was still clinging to her like a leech. The only trace of the reason to her steadily increasing worry was lying on her bed at the other end of the room. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, Vivi got up from the dressing table and slowly walked across the room. When she reached her bed, she crawled up to sit in the middle of it, holding the precious item that caused her so much despair tightly in her hands.

On a stack of pillows next to the bed, Vivi's best friend was sleeping, his spotted bill tucked beneath one of his wings. When Vivi climbed up onto her bed, Carue looked up, blinking sleepily in the still bright daylight. He slowly crawled down from his stack of pillows, shook his feathers and quacked softly to get his friend's attention.

Vivi looked up as she heard the quacking, and she smiled towards Carue, patting a spot next to her on the covers of the bed. As the duck jumped up on the bed and carefully walked over to her, Vivi put her arm around his thin neck, hugging him tightly.

"Oh, Carue…" she said, holding back a quiet sob. "I don't know what to do."

The scene that had taken place a little more than three days earlier flashed before her eyes again. She could see the small guard patrol coming in through the doors to the palace and the troubled look on the sergeant's face as he held up the old straw hat, presenting it as the only trace they had found of the pirate clan that had saved their country. She remembered the sinking feeling of her hope fading as the guards told the King about the Marines who had been seen escorting six odd-looking people out from the town in chains. Later news also confirmed this, plus adding more information about a pirate ship that had been seen getting towed away from the island by the Marines.

Sobbing, Vivi curled up next to Carue, her arms still tightly wrapped around the duck's neck. She smiled weakly as she felt a pair of feathery wings being wrapped around her.

"Please make them be alright…" she whispered, letting her tears trickle down her cheeks. "Don't let anything bad happen to my friends…"

The sound of running steps in the corridor outside her room reached the princess' ears and she looked up just as there was a knock on her door. Blinking, she wiped the tears from her eyes and hurried to crawl off her bed. Quickly walking to stand in the middle of the room, she took deep breaths to calm herself down. A princess shouldn't be seen crying in front of her people.

"Come in." she said, surprising herself by sounding perfectly calm.

Vivi jumped as the door was slammed open. In the blink of an eye, Carue was by her side, shielding her from any possible threat. But the man standing in the doorway wasn't threatening at all. He was leaning against one of the doorposts, trying to catch his breath as he held out a sand-coloured envelope towards the princess. His long, serious face was glazed with sweat and his normally neat curly hair was messy.

"Vivi-sama…" he finally managed to say between gasps that rattled in his chest. "Thrh…" A cough followed by a breathless scale to adjust his voice. "This… just came for you… The messenger-bird is waiting… for you to send a… reply… I believe this is impohrrtant…" Another cough, followed by deep, rattling breaths.

Vivi stared at the letter and hurried over to the breathless man to take the envelope from him. At first she couldn't do anything but stare at the envelope in her hands, and her body started to tremble so bad that she sank down to the floor. She could have recognized the handwriting in which her name and the name of her kingdom was written anywhere. The same neat handwriting had been used to create so many detailed maps over different islands inside the lounge aboard the Going Merry. Down in the bottom left corner, a small caricature of a straw hat-clad skull overlapping a pair of crossed bones was drawn with a drawing style that was all too familiar.

Ripping the envelope open, she pulled out the letter and unfolded it. Her hands were shaking when she looked at the letter, but the shaking eased when she looked at the many caricatures that were drawn in the margins. In the top left corner was a very detailed sketch of the Going Merry, and when Vivi looked closer, she could see seven tiny characters aboard the ship, apparently celebrating. She immediately recognized the six members of the Straw Hat clan, but when she recognized the female character who was standing by the prow of the ship, she couldn't help but blink in confusion. It looked like… But it couldn't be, why would Miss All Sunday be aboard the Going Merry?

"Vivi-sama… What does it say?"

Vivi looked up from the letter. The concerned tone in the man's voice made her decide to look closer at the drawings later.

"Close the door and sit down to rest, Igaram-san," she said. "I'll read it to you."

Vivi smiled as Igaram hesitated before sitting down on the floor in front of her. Feeling Carue settling down to her right, Vivi started reading the letter.

_Dear Vivi – or should I write Princess Vivi? It sounds so formal, so I think I'll stick with Vivi._

_Anyway, this is Nami writing on behalf of the Straw Hat clan, to let you know that you don't have to  
worry about us anymore. We wanted to tell you that in person, but we're unfortunately sailing away  
from Alabasta now, because of the Marines and their newly established base in Albana._

_I'm sure that you've heard about the Marines capturing us after the war ended, and I'm sad to say that  
it is true. But we managed to escape, thanks to our stubbornness, and the super-strong monsters that  
make up the majority of our clan._

_  
We're all pretty tired, even if I think that Zoro and Sanji rather would go back and have another fight  
with the marines than to admit it, but Luffy is the only one who haven't recovered completely yet. He's  
been having a high fever ever since his fight against Crocodile, and Chopper has admitted that there  
were times when he thought that our captain wasn't going to survive. That's a scary thought._

_Around noon today, Luffy's fever was finally gone and he came out on the main deck, demanding food.  
He still seem like he's pretty dazed by the fever. When I'm writing this, he has been sitting on the figure-  
head for almost four hours without moving an inch. His hat was lost somewhere during his fight with  
Crocodile, but he hasn't even asked about it yet. _

_There was one episode - about four hours ago – where he seemed to slip out of the daze, but the only  
thing he did was hitting Zoro for telling him that we weren't going to Alabasta to pick you up. I don't  
know how Zoro could remain so calm after something like that, but all he did was to tell Luffy that it  
didn't matter how upset he was, it wouldn't make us go back to Alabasta._

_It might sound strange, but we might not have been so lucky to get away from the Marine base so  
quickly if it hadn't been for Bon Clay. He guarded the Going Merry for almost three days, posing as a  
Marine soldier. It makes me wonder what he had done if we hadn't been able to escape.  
_

_We also got ourselves a new nakama, as Luffy would put it, but you probably wouldn't believe me if I  
told you who she is._

Vivi stopped reading. She stared at the last sentence for a short moment before looking up from the letter. A new nakama? Then… Miss All Sunday? When Vivi thought about it, her father had told her that the woman had had the antidote for the poison Luffy had been infected with. Shaking her head lightly, she turned her eyes back to the letter and continued reading.

_Except for Luffy, Zoro and Sanji were the ones to sustain the most injuries. Those two are real injury-  
magnets. Zoro must have lost at least half the blood in his body and Sanji ran around –and is still  
walking around - on two broken feet. Poor Chopper has been wearing himself out while trying to keep  
Sanji from running around too much and Zoro from working out, even if our little doctor also was  
injured during our escape. _

_Usopp was shot twice during our escape, once in the left arm and once in the right shoulder and he  
seemed to suffer from a smaller shock the first hours after we set sail. But when the shock eased, he was  
back up on deck, telling new stories to keep Chopper's mood up, so I think he's recovering just fine._

_And about myself… Well, I hurt my leg in a fight in Albana, but Chopper has given me some kind of  
medicine that he claims is going to make my injury heal faster. So far, it seems like it is working,  
because the pain is almost gone, but it's also making me a bit tired. I just hope that I won't fall asleep  
while writing._

_I was going to tell you more about our escape, but I think that'll have to wait until everything settles  
down a bit, and when the Marines aren't hovering about in Alabasta anymore. _

Here, Vivi noticed that the ink had been a little smudged, and she wondered if Nami really had fallen asleep over the letter. The next paragraph was a lot neater, almost as if Nami had found new energy to write again. The tone behind the words was also a lot happier.

_I think I dozed off there for a little while, but when I woke up, Luffy was sitting here next to me and he  
seems to be back to normal again. He wants me to tell you that you'll always be our nakama, even if he  
really wants you to give up your place as a princess and come with us. Oh, and he wants me to ask you if  
anyone has found his hat, because he wants it back. He can't be Luffy with the Straw Hat without a hat,  
now can he?_

_We still have the Eternal Post to Alabasta, so we'll come by some day, and when we get there, we'll be  
expecting a royal feast. Until then, do try to stay out of trouble. We can't come and save you, princess,  
no matter how much we would want to. Say hi and thanks you to Eyelash, Carue and all the other brave  
animals who helped us_

Below that, _'You are my nakama - Monkey D Luffy'_ was writing with large, bold letters, followed by five other signatures.

'_You're worth more than all the Belli in the world – Nami'_

'_My beloved Vivi-chan, you'll always have my heart – Sanji'_

'_To protect others, you need to be able to protect yourself. You fight well, princess. – Lolonoa Zoro'_

Below the signature made with the swordsman's jagged handwriting was a small note made with Sanji's neat hand.

'_Impressive, I didn't know you could write, Zoro.'_

That note was followed by another note with Zoro's handwriting.

'_Funny, I was just about to say the same about you.'_

Then, there were some inkblots staining the paper, and Vivi was pretty certain that they were traces of Nami putting a stop to the unfolding argument. The princess giggled as she pictured the orange-haired navigator knocking the swordsman and cook senseless for what had to be the eight-thousandth time. She was pretty sure that the written argument had been staged to let her know that her friends were going to be alright, but it didn't matter. Now she could just read the letter to remember the time she spent aboard the pirate ship. A few centimetres below the largest inkblots, the two last signatures were written. The first one was made with a slanted handwriting, and the second was very round and carefully written, like a prescription for medicine.

'_Good luck with rebuilding your kingdom, Vivi. Did I ever tell you about the time when I helped to  
rebuild the Diamond City? Well, I'll tell you about that the next time I'll see you. - Usopp'_

'_I wish I could have come to Alabasta and learn about your medicine. I'll miss you, Vivi, and Carue as well. – TonyTony Chopper'_

Vivi looked at the small caricatures that decorated the margins of the letter. Judging by the many details, Usopp seemed to have put down a lot of work in each of the small sketches. There were pictures of Usopp and Chopper fighting a huge mole, seven people wearing cloaks while riding on giant ducks over the dunes of the desert and Zoro and Sanji arguing about who took down the most Marines during their escape. Down in the lower right corner, a symbol caught her eye.

_Once a pirate_

**X**

_Always a pirate_

Folding the letter and tucking it into the envelope, Vivi smiled and got up from the floor. She wasn't feeling worried anymore. The bottomless despair that had been clinging to her so desperate had vanished. Turning to the curly-haired man, the princess couldn't hide her excitement as she bounced lightly in front of him.

"Igaram-san, would you be so kind and tell the messenger-bird that I will send a reply as soon as possible? And tell him that the reply will include a package. We have to send the hat to its rightful owner."

Igaram bowed lightly and smiled, clearly relieved to have learnt that the real heroes who saved Alabasta were safe. He got up from the floor, brushing some dust off his robes before he turned to walk towards the door.

"I will take care of it immediately, Vivi-sama."

Vivi looked up, suddenly remembering the other crewmembers. She raised her hand towards Igaram, who was just walking out through the door.

"Igaram-san, wait. Can you take some other messages as well?"

"Of course. What are the messages?"

A few minutes later, Igaram walked out from the princess' room, repeating the messages to himself so that he wouldn't forget them. He had to tell the messenger-bird that a reply would be sent as soon as possible, and ask if the bird could take a package along with the reply. Then he was to tell his wife to make copies of her best recipes and to pack some of Alabasta's finest spices in small bags. Then he was to ask the doctors of Albana to write down different ways of treating poison and heat-related illnesses. And finally, he had to find a box to put all the different items in. The day is just getting better and better, he thought to himself as he hurried down the corridor to fulfil his mission.

_Owari – _End

* * *

_Heh, I must have been tired when I uploaded this chapter, since I forgot to include an author's comment here in the end. I want to thank everyone who have read and reviewed this story, I've really enjoyed writing this and I hope that you've enjoyed reading it at least a little._

_I'm going to rewrite and repost the first chapters to try to make them more detailed and to fix some details that are wrong, but other than that, this story is now complete. Thank you again._


End file.
